Tag Archives for " open platform "
Does your supplier own your data, or do you?
The world is getting more and more connected. I’m connected to my car, my kid’s watch, and my doorbell. If I were to buy a new tractor, loader, or trencher, I’d expect to be connected to that too.
For equipment manufacturers considering their connected strategy, there are two approaches. We’re going to talk a bit about each of those approaches, in general I’m an advocate of the Open approach which is described below.
Open and Closed Approaches
At a really high level, there are two approaches to making equipment connectivity happen. Closed and Open.
The Closed approach is an approach where a supplier brings a full system and solution for connectivity. This includes the onboard telematic unit, the backend/cloud service, and the mobile/web experience. This is attractive because it is an easy button, one stop shop, for connecting a machine. The downside is that you are no longer in control of your data, your customer’s data, and you’re going to rely on the permissions granted by a supplier for information that is increasingly critical to your business. They say data is the new oil, you’ve given your supplier your mineral rights.
The Open approach is an approach where a supplier brings an open system for a telematic controller or asset tracker. This means that you can change the software on the system (either internally or with contract resources). This typically means that you need to develop your own backend/cloud service and mobile/web experience. Undoubtedly, this is harder and requires more effort than a turn-key supplier-delivered approach. As they say, nothing worthwhile is ever easy and we’ll discuss the upside below, but the key is that you control your data, how it is used, and can direct the path of value added services that are built off this data. This data, this digital oil, is incredibly valuable in so many ways.
Control of Data
Before discussing data and value propositions, it is important to understand that to achieve these value propositions you must control the data. There are different perspectives on data ownership. Some people believe that the operator should control the data. Others contend that the ownership of the data should reside with the equipment manufacturers. In any event, your supplier should not own or control your data. It is simply too valuable to have to ask for permission to access, to modify, and to mine.
Decreased Costs
Access to this data provides opportunities for the reduction in costs or avoidance of expenses. These cost reductions come in a number of different packages. Having data about the fleet and its operation can lead to value added services that improve fleet safety, which limits litigation and settlement expenses with a reduction in incidents and accidents. This data can also be used to provide the evidence necessary to negotiate with insurance carriers, providing critical information necessary to manage this growing industry expense. Lastly, the data can be used to understand the circumstances related to warranty claims which can lead to the avoidance of payment on unjust claims and the improvement of design to eliminate future claims in related areas.
Increased Revenue
Control over the data creates potential for delivery of value-added services to customers, which creates potential for new streams of revenue. Such services can include things like web-based analytics that allow for more productive utilization of fleet assets and leveraging data to efficiently schedule and use expected machine downtime for maintenance. Interesting opportunities can also emerge in the monetization of third-party, value-added, services through APIs that allow selective access to your data. In these cases, a programmatic interface is created to allow additional companies to access data, at the customer’s request, to provide more niche services at high value. The access to that data can be monetized, with a fee charged to the third party, giving you a portion of their revenue stream without any of the development or maintenance burden of the niche application.
Expansion Potential
Whenever one of our customers really starts to dig into their data, two things emerge. The first is value. The second is more questions that, if answered, are expected to uncover additional exciting business value.
This is where an open platform is also critical. Answering those questions can involve changes to the software on the telematic unit, changes to the backend architecture to mine/compare/contrast data in different ways, or changes to the mobile experience to better present customer features or track customer behaviors. In this way, the cycle of data acquisition, analysis, and value creation becomes an evergreen – but only if you have the control necessary to drive the evolution of your connected ecosystem. This only happens in an open platform.
Flexibility
We believe you should have the freedom to choose. You should be free to choose which telematic supplier you select for different equipment platforms. You should be free to choose which mobile devices are compatible with your solution. In an open system, you are free to specify, implement, and manage these choices. A constraint of a closed system is that you’re locked into the offerings, and mobile device support, from a single supplier. That supplier may be great, but then you’re also locked into the timelines associated with which that supplier supports new generations of connectivity technology (4G, 5G, etc) as well as the timeliness which with that supplier can offer you access to connectivity services in new countries.
Control of Security
Open doesn’t mean unsecure. Open means having the freedom to impose your cyber rules and requirements on the system, ensuring that your security preferences are embodied in your connected solution. When you own your security you have the comfort of certainty. When you’re working in a closed party system, there are always questions about the security and control of access to your equipment, your data, and your customer’s data.
David Batcheller
President & CBOhttps://appareo.com/2021/03/23/does-your-supplier-own-your-data-or-do-you-2/
As a manufacturer, I should really control my data
The world is getting more and more connected. I’m connected to my car, my kid’s watch, and my doorbell. If I was to buy a new airplane, I’d expect to be connected to that too. For engine and airframe manufacturers considering their connected strategy, there are two approaches. In this post, we will go over both of them, but I am personally an advocate of the Open approach.
Open and Closed Approaches
At a really high level, there are two approaches to making airframe and engine connectivity happen: Closed and Open.
The Closed approach is a full connectivity system delivered by one supplier. This includes onboard avionic, a backend/cloud service, and a mobile/web experience. The Closed approach is attractive because it is an “easy button” one-stop-shop for connecting an aircraft. The downside is that you are no longer in control of your data, your customers’ data, and you’re going to rely on the permissions granted by a supplier for information that is increasingly critical to your business. Also, with a Closed approach you are not able to modify or add functionality to the system. As the saying goes, “data is the new oil,” and with this approach, you have given your supplier your mineral rights.
The Open approach is where a supplier brings an open platform connectivity system for an avionic device. This means that you can change the software on the system (either internally or with contract resources). This typically means that you need to develop your own backend/cloud service and mobile/web experience. Undoubtedly, this is harder and requires more effort than a supplier-delivered, turn-key, approach. As they say, nothing worthwhile is ever easy. We will discuss the upside below. With an Open approach, you control your data, how it is used, and how it can direct the path of value-added services that are built off this data. This data is “digital oil” and is incredibly valuable to you in so many ways.
Control of Data
Before discussing data and value propositions, it is important to understand that to achieve these, you must control the data. There are different perspectives on data ownership. Some people believe that the operator/pilot should control the data. Others contend that the ownership of the data should reside with the airframe or engine manufacturers. In any event, your supplier should not own or control your data. It is simply too valuable to have to ask for permission to access, modify, and mine.
Decreased Costs
Access to this data provides opportunities for cost reductions or avoidance of expenses. These cost reductions come in a number of different packages. Having data about the fleet and its operation can lead to value-added services that improve fleet safety, which limits litigation and settlement expenses with a reduction in incidents/accidents. This data can also be used to provide the evidence necessary to negotiate with insurance carriers and provide critical information to manage this growing industry expense. Lastly, the data can be used to understand the circumstances related to warranty claims. This can lead to the avoidance of payment on unjust claims and the improvement of design to eliminate future claims in related areas.
Increased Revenue
Control over the data creates potential for delivery of value-added services to customers, which creates potential for new streams of revenue. Such services can include things like:
1. Web-based analytics that allow for more productive utilization of shared aircraft assets in a fleet environment.
2. Utilization of data to deliver timely parts.
3. Maintenance services to efficiently minimize aircraft downtime.
Interesting opportunities can also emerge in the monetization of third-party, value-added, services through APIs that allow selective access to your data. In these cases, a programmatic interface is created to allow additional companies to access data, at the customer’s request, to provide more niche services at high value. Access to that data can be monetized, with a fee charged to the third party, giving you a portion of their revenue stream without any of the development or maintenance burden of the niche application.
Expansion Potential
Whenever one of our customers really starts to dig into their data, two things emerge. The first is value. The second is more questions that, if answered, are expected to uncover additional exciting business value.
This is where an open platform is also critical. Answering those questions can involve changes to the software on the avionics, changes to the backend architecture to mine/compare/contrast data in different ways, or changes to the mobile experience to better present customer features or track customer behaviors. With an open platform, the cycle of data acquisition, analysis, and value creation becomes an evergreen — but only if you have the control necessary to drive the evolution of your connected ecosystem.
Flexibility
At Appareo we believe you should have the freedom to choose. You should be free to choose which avionic supplier you select for different aircraft platforms. You should be free to choose which mobile devices are compatible with your solution. With an open system, you are free to specify, implement, and manage these choices. With a closed system, you are locked into the offerings and mobile device support from a single supplier. That supplier may be great, but you are also locked into the supplier’s timelines for supporting new generations of connectivity technology (4G, 5G, etc.), as well as the timeliness with which that supplier can offer you access to connectivity services in new countries.
Control of Security
An Open platform doesn’t mean unsecure. Open means having the freedom to impose your cyber rules and requirements on the system, ensuring that your security preferences are embodied in your connected solution. When you own your security you have the comfort of certainty. When you’re working in a closed party system, there are always questions about the security and control of access to your avionics, your data, and your customer’s data. This should be an area you want to control.
Kris Garberg – President, Aviation
https://appareo.com/2021/03/01/as-a-manufacturer-i-should-really-control-my-data/
Appareo Releases New Open Platform Telematics Device with Truly Global Connectivity
NEWS RELEASE
Appareo Releases New Open Platform Telematics Device with Truly Global Connectivity
The IP67-rated Gateway 370 features Iridium® SBD, 4G/3G/2G, and eSIM, certified for use in the USA, Canada, Europe, Brazil, and more.
FARGO, North Dakota (January 21, 2021) — Appareo today released a new product in the company’s award-winning line of telematic control units (TCUs). The Gateway 370 is a rugged yet lightweight edge computing platform for mobile equipment applications that provides a wide range of communication technologies. This release builds on the Gateway 270 model that was launched in 2020, adding an Iridium short burst data (SBD) satellite transceiver for truly global communication capabilities, and a 433 MHz receiver for use with sensors and active RFID tags.
Gateway 370 is built on an open and flexible platform that supports standard programming languages and tools, allowing Appareo customers to quickly and easily develop their own applications on the hardware. The device is built on a popular distribution of embedded Linux (Yocto) with Docker support, allowing a convenient development environment for C++, C#, or other common development languages.
“This flexibility and approachability gives Appareo customers the control they desire — allowing them to use a variety of approaches and resources to achieve the maintenance, service, and operational benefits customized to their needs,” said David Batcheller, President & CBO of Appareo.
In addition to the satellite and 433 MHz radios, the Gateway 370 comes with the full set of features found in the Gateway 270 model, including global LTE CAT 4 cellular radio with 3G/2G fallback and eSIM; dual core processor for handling significant computational capabilities at the edge; Wi-Fi and Bluetooth interfaces for communication between mobile devices and the machine for control and/or monitoring purposes; 6x CAN bus interfaces; Ethernet; BroadR-Reach; RS-232; GPS; and more.
These capabilities are housed in an IP67-rated rugged enclosure for use outdoors and for mounting on construction and agricultural machinery. The device’s array of wired and wireless communication technologies make it well suited for a broad spectrum of equipment control, monitoring, and connectivity challenges.
Wide Area Network
The Gateway 370 is certified for deployment in a broad range of North American, South American, and European markets, making it ideal for equipment manufacturers with broad geographic distribution. Appareo worked with carrier partners Vodafone International and Tata Communications to maximize the geographic potential of the Gateway 370. However, cellular coverage is still limited in some geographies. Appareo’s inclusion of an Iridium transceiver in Gateway 370 ensures that Appareo customers stay connected with their machines and that critical machine data can be retrieved, wherever that equipment may be (land, air, or water).
Local Area Network
The LAN connections (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and 433 MHz) allow machines to communicate directly with each other and with the operators or passengers. For example, people near the machine can be connected, informed, or in control, using real-time data with zero latency and no network costs. Further, the Gateway 370 can communicate with active RFID products (e.g., asset trackers), tire pressure sensors, and other wireless machine sensors. This capability allows for machines to receive information from hydraulic and mechanical attachments, and despite the lack of electrical power on those attachments, use information from the active RFID tag to recognize the attachment, and automatically adjust machine control settings accordingly.
For applications where Iridium is not required and the application may be more cost sensitive, defeatured variants of the Gateway telematic control units are available with the same open platform principle. This family design approach allows Appareo customers to access and utilize a variety of TCUs, on the same open platform, with a variety of capabilities and price points to address specific needs.
Appareo Gateway Series
To contact Appareo, acquire a development kit, and begin working with Appareo Gateways, visit appareo.com/gateways.
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About Appareo
Appareo is a recognized leader in the custom design, development and manufacture of innovative electronic and software solutions for aerospace and terrestrial applications. Through the creative application of cutting-edge technologies, Appareo creates complex end-to-end solutions that include both mobile and cloud-based components. The company is privately held, with headquarters in Fargo, N.D., and a design office in Paris, France. All products are built and supported in the USA.
Product Photos: appareo.com/media
https://www.appareo.com/2021/01/21/appareo-releases-new-open-platform-telematics-device-with-truly-global-connectivity/