No More Bothersome Dead Car Batteries Thanks to Smart Predictive Analysis

Intelematics wants to spare fleet operators from the heartbreak and hassle of surprise dead batteries.

Dan Carney, Senior Editor

August 23, 2021

2 Min Read
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Adobe Stock

Most of us have experienced the stomach-turning feeling of twisting a car’s ignition key and having no result because of a dead battery.

Intelematics has partnered with Voyomotive to produce Failsafe, an application that can predict car battery failure as long as a month beforehand.

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The companies say that more than 50 million car batteries are replaced annually, which presents a lot of opportunities for drivers to be stranded. The market for those replacement batteries totals an impressive $5 billion per year.

The partnership between Intelematics and Voyomotive provides a turnkey solution that delivers Failsafe predictive battery analytics for roadside response, vehicle service/repair, and fleet applications.

“Predictive technology has the opportunity to save businesses large amounts of money and improve efficiency by allowing them to plan a replacement installation around their busy schedules and avoid the inconvenience of an unexpected breakdown,” said Intelematics’ CEO Nick Marks. “It simply allows companies to focus on the needs of their customers, rather than on their own internal operations,” he added.

Failsafe is a predictive services application programming interface (API) that ingests real-time vehicle information, provided by the Voyomotive aftermarket controllers and telematics platform, to predict battery failure. The Failsafe algorithm was developed using machine learning by Intelematics with global data provided from two million vehicle trips and thousands of battery-related service calls. 

Related:Insulate Yourself from the Shock of Electrifying Puns at The Battery Show

In contrast to applications that use a simple reading of battery voltage to guess the battery’s state, Failsafe uses a range of advanced battery-related parameters captured by the VOYO controller at the time of an engine start. The data from a series of engine starts is sent to the Intelematics cloud for analysis to gauge battery health.

The results are provided by Voyomotive’s VOYO app or by SMS text message with API options to make results available in third-party mobile apps and enterprise systems. Failsafe works for vehicles equipped with VOYO’s OBDII plug and play controllers.

“Most vehicle data remains out of reach to app developers, fleet operators, and even Tier-one component manufacturers,” noted Voyomotive CEO, Peter Yorke. “Failsafe is a showcase example of how access to advanced vehicle data provided by Voyomotive enables partners, such as Intelematics, to deliver cost-effective solutions that increase safety while decreasing operating costs.”

That doesn’t even consider the cost savings for heartburn medicine that drivers no longer need to deal with the hassle of unexpected dead batteries.

Related:VW Shows How to Recover 95 Percent of Valuable EV Battery Materials

About the Author

Dan Carney

Senior Editor, Design News

Dan’s coverage of the auto industry over three decades has taken him to the racetracks, automotive engineering centers, vehicle simulators, wind tunnels, and crash-test labs of the world.

A member of the North American Car, Truck, and Utility of the Year jury, Dan also contributes car reviews to Popular Science magazine, serves on the International Engine of the Year jury, and has judged the collegiate Formula SAE competition.

Dan is a winner of the International Motor Press Association's Ken Purdy Award for automotive writing, as well as the National Motorsports Press Association's award for magazine writing and the Washington Automotive Press Association's Golden Quill award.

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He has held a Sports Car Club of America racing license since 1991, is an SCCA National race winner, two-time SCCA Runoffs competitor in Formula F, and an Old Dominion Region Driver of the Year award winner. Co-drove a Ford Focus 1.0-liter EcoBoost to 16 Federation Internationale de l’Automobile-accredited world speed records over distances from just under 1km to over 4,104km at the CERAM test circuit in Mortefontaine, France.

He was also a longtime contributor to the Society of Automotive Engineers' Automotive Engineering International magazine.

He specializes in analyzing technical developments, particularly in the areas of motorsports, efficiency, and safety.

He has been published in The New York Times, NBC News, Motor Trend, Popular Mechanics, The Washington Post, Hagerty, AutoTrader.com, Maxim, RaceCar Engineering, AutoWeek, Virginia Living, and others.

Dan has authored books on the Honda S2000 and Dodge Viper sports cars and contributed automotive content to the consumer finance book, Fight For Your Money.

He is a member and past president of the Washington Automotive Press Association and is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers

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