Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) launched a new digital platform DiGiSense. With DiGiSense M&M plans to merge all its existing digital platforms like Smart Shift, Tringo and BlueSense on to a common diital platform. A mobile based, connected vehicle technology application, according to Dr. Pawan Goenka, Executive Director, Mahindra & Mahindra, the cloud based sensing platform will be a key differentiator for the company going forward. “Digitization is emerging as a key differentiator for business transformation and connected vehicle technology is one such manifestation,” opined Goenka. “It is the first of its kind technology platform which is multi application and multi product enabled,” he added. The application works such that a Computer Control Unit (CCU) sends information to the DiGiSense sensor. The sensor then processes this raw data. It sends this data to the vehicle owner which can be accessed through the app. and a dedicated web portal. It is claimed to give the owner control over the vehicle and in turn the business. Some of the key features of the digital platform include route planning and delivery tracking, generation of vehicle reports, trip optimisation, system alerts and geo-fencing. In case of tractors, the features include an anti-theft alert, high RPM alerts and air filter clog alerts among others. In case of fleet operators, they will be able to compare and evaluate the performance of drivers and trucks in their fleet. Using the trip optimisation feature mentioned above, fleet operators will be able to plan a multi-location trip on a google map powered interface. This is expected to significantly lower cost of operations and reduce travel time. Logistics operators, those particularly operating on inter-city routes are likely to find the remote diagnostics feature particularly useful. Playing the role of a logistics manager, it will intimate operators on package delivery too. Fuel-theft is another critical area addressed in case of the off-highway and construction vehicles..According to Rajan Wadhera, President and Chief Executive – Truck, Power Train Division and Head – MRV, Mahindra & Mahindra, the open source platform of DiGiSense will allow for future upgrades of the application.“We have built in several features into DiGiSENSE and will further integrate other features in the future versions,”claimed Wadhera. According to Mahindra Sources, a company fitted hardware will be fitted on the vehicle to gather the critical data. Sources claimed the hardware however will not be offered as a retrofit to older Mahindra vehicles. It will be offered on select new vehicles instead; Jeeto and Imperio in the Small Commercial Vehicles space, Arjun Novo in the tractor space, Mahindra Blazo in the heavy commercial vehicles space and the Earthmaster in the construction equipment space. Partnering M&M on the digital platform is Tech Mahindra, Bosch and Vodafone. DiGiSense is expected to cost vehicle owners Rs.5000 to Rs.10000 depending on the vehicle it is fitted on and the features one opts for. Claimed to be launch after exhaustive testing over three years, during the time, M&M is claimed to have conducted several trials especially over the last one year. As part of these trials, the platform was subjected to about 1,80,000 kms on road testing and 10,000 hours of harsh on-road conditions. The hardware was additionally tested for vibrations and 10,000 minutes of data storage to check the consistency of data.