Lytx Introduces Unisyn ‘Always-On’ Video Service
The Unisyn video telematics platform allows fleet managers to access, review and manage video for many purposes, including cargo security and loss prevention, documenting delays at a loading dock and exonerating drivers involved in crashes.
With Unisyn, fleets can integrate as many cameras as they wish, including forward facing, side view, rear view and inside the trailer or cargo hold to monitor freight. They can access the video in real time or on demand.
Unisyn is available independently of Lytx’s DriveCam exception-based driver coaching program, but fleets can implement both platforms to use video intelligence for both fleet operations and driver safety.
“Video is the single richest source of information you can possibly have, bar none,” CEO Brandon Nixon said here during a press briefing at American Trucking Associations’ Management Conference & Exhibition.
To extract data from the video feeds, Unisyn users can set video tags to categorize and catalog video according to a variety of factors, including location, time, driver and vehicle.
“Access to video telematics has, until now, largely been driven by safety needs, and dictated by fleet size,” said Frost & Sullivan analyst Sathyanarayana K, who described Unisyn as “a turning point in the telematics industry.”
Lytx also said it is adding new video event triggers for its DriveCam program, which records video clips of incidents such as hard braking and sudden swerving, provides data analysis of those events and enables driver coaching.
With the new enhancements, DriveCam also will record when drivers go through a stop sign without coming to a complete stop and when driver behavior activates a third-party rollover-stability system.
The San Diego-based company also unveiled software enhancements designed to streamline fleet tracking on managers’ mobile devices and introduced an updated workspace for DriveCam Enterprise users.
Lytx said it plans to roll out the DriveCam enhancements, including the new triggers, mobile tracking and workspace redesign, throughout 2017.
The company also shared data collected by fleets that have implemented its ActiveVision service, introduced at last year’s MCE.
ActiveVision detects and tracks lane markings and surrounding vehicles to identify driving patterns that indicate distracted or drowsy driving. When triggered, the system generates audio and visual driver alerts, followed by video capture if the behavior continues.
Swift Transportation, YRC, Melton Truck Lines and Cargo Transporters are among the carriers that have adopted ActiveVision, Lytx said.
Lytx said ActiveVision helped fleets detect 60% more lane departures, up to 24% more distracted driving and up to 65% more events where the driver is following too closely.
“Since using the ActiveVision service, we’ve been able to dramatically reduce distracted driving by sharing video events in one-on-one coaching,” said Victor Malchesky, corporate director of safety and compliance for Swift Transportation, which has deployed ActiveVision in 14,000 of its trucks. “Many times drivers don't realize they have driving habits that need adjusting until they can see it in an ActiveVision event recording.”
Sean Saunders, YRC’s senior vice president of human resources and safety, said: “We’re helping our drivers fine-tune their driving skills, we’re helping them stay alert and engaged behind the wheel, and with the video that DriveCam provides, we have a better understanding of the facts, which can lead to the exoneration of our drivers.”
Citing Frost & Sullivan data, Nixon said Lytx has maintained a two-thirds market share in video telematics, even as more startups enter the space and traditional telematics firms add onboard video systems to their offerings.
Lytx currently has about 350,000 subscriptions for its video safety platform, covering about 600,000 drivers, Nixon said. Last quarter, Lytx brought nearly 200 new clients onto the DriveCam program, up about tenfold from three years ago, he added.
