The technology allows drivers to request and receive fleet data with voice commands
The fleet industry’s first voice-based technology, still in development by ARI, will be unveiled at its Best in Fleet conference in Miami Beach, Fla., Nov. 8-10.
The annual event celebrating technological innovation and disruption in the fleet management industry brings together more than 150 of ARI’s largest clients who have shown an eagerness to integrate the latest technology into how they manage their company vehicles.
The conference will mark the launch of the pilot program for ARI’s Alexa app, designed for Amazon’s virtual personal assistant. As currently envisioned, the technology would allow end-users to interact with their fleet data and ARI insights®, the company’s web-based portal, in a brand new way by asking to learn information out loud, and receiving the information the same way. It’s another step toward making ARI technology and data readily available to fleet managers and drivers without having to use a website or a portal.
“As Alexa, and other technologies like it, creep into more parts of our daily lives, it made sense for us to explore if our clients would benefit from this new way of engaging with ARI, specifically by integrating it with our ARI insights portal,” said ARI Director of Client Information Services Don Woods. “Through the pilot program, we hope to learn more about how people actually want to use the technology in the field and if it creates efficiencies in managing their fleet.”
At the launch of the pilot, users will be able to ask Alexa to fetch information related to fuel, accidents, maintenance, downtime and purchase orders. ARI will track queries that are being made to Alexa to see what other data points might be added as they work to develop the technology further. ARI developers will determine through the pilot program if clients are able to access their information more quickly through Alexa, allowing fleets more time to focus on the analysis of the data and take action to run their fleets more efficiently and improve their bottom lines.
ARI believes the Alexa technology could also create efficiencies internally, too, as people shift toward Alexa, thereby eliminating the need to make a phone call to ARI.
The Best in Fleet conference, now in its second year, was created to bring together the leaders from the front lines of the fleet management industry to examine the evolution of technology in their field and what the fleet of the future will look like. Guests will hear directly from ARI clients including Comcast, MasTec Advanced Technologies and XTO Energy to learn how they have implemented ARI technology into their fleets and how it has affected their operations. Keynote speakers include Ted Graham, head of Open Innovation at General Motors, and NFL star Emmitt Smith.