Trucking companies have been using AI for several years now to detect things like drowsy driving, following distance and cellphone usage behind the wheel, but the AI is changing. It’s getting smarter, faster.
Leveraging the more than 14 trillion data points across its platform, Samsara rolled out over a dozen new AI-powered solutions and enhancements at its Beyond conference held this week in San Diego.
“We're entering an entirely new era: the age of intelligence,” said Samsara CEO Sanjit Biswas. “This idea that computers can think for us, it's so incredible, and it's so useful, especially in our world of physical operations. The best part about this is these ideas aren't a decade away. They're here, and they're here now.”
Safety intelligence is top of mind for Samsara.
According to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there has been a 49% increase in fatal crashes involving large trucks over the past decade. The company introduced an AI multicam product, coaching solutions for lean teams and a revamped driver app to help fleets not only mitigate the impacts of accidents but avoid them altogether.
“AI is going to be the most transformative technology of this century,” said Samsara Senior Vice President of Product and Engineering Johan Land. “If you think back to the last century, we saw a lot of tech that made us safer. We saw the seat belt, the airbag, ABS brakes, and together these technologies save millions of lives every year. Now I believe that AI is going to be even more impactful than all of this combined.”
AI isn’t new to the cab, but Samsara’s AI multicam extends beyond the cab to give drivers greater situational awareness.
Fleets can now add up to four additional HD cameras, providing a 360-degree view to reduce blindspots, all accessible through an in-cab monitor. The multicam also actively notifies drivers in real-time of hazards, such as pedestrians, cyclists and other vehicles. Fleets can retrieve historic video footage and corresponding audio, even if they use third-party devices.
Samsara's AI-powered multicam monitor shows camera footage of potential driving hazards.Angel Coker Jones
The four cameras connect to the forward- and inward-facing dash cameras, and drivers can see footage on a monitor mounted inside the cab.
Dan Greer, a senior sales engineer at Samsara, demonstrated how the multicam works at the company’s tech showcase during Beyond. Greer said, for tractor trailer combos, the best use is to mount two cameras on the side of the tractor, whereas other commercial vehicles like box trucks could make use of a camera mounted to the back of the vehicle. There is a zoom function as well as audio on each camera, and the video can be downloaded.
The AI detects movements around the vehicle, highlighting hazards with a blue box.
But the biggest difference in this AI is its understanding and its ability to contextualize. The AI can interpret drivers’ reactions to events, for example, reading facial expressions.
Samsara shared a video in which a pedestrian runs out in front of a driver from behind another vehicle. The driver slams on his brakes to avoid hitting the runner, and his face is one of frustration. Another video showed a driver hard braking to avoid hitting an NYPD vehicle that unexpectedly came up beside the vehicle. In both instances, the AI alerts helped the drivers avoid accidents.
The AI considered the hardbrake, the driver’s reaction and the surrounding video, and translated that into a short report.
“Driver braked sharply to avoid a pedestrian crossing,” Land said. “The AI understood that this was a defensive driver. It understood what was happening … The safety score will go up, not down, and even better, you see the coach chose to recognize the driver. He got praised for doing something good,” whereas without the additional insight of the AI cameras, the driver may have been reprimanded for harsh braking.
The AI can also help safety managers on the home front to identify patterns to improve safety programs. They can ask the AI questions like, “who are my most unsafe drivers and why?” And they can use the platform to send drivers a note (and digital gift cards), maybe with a coaching element or a thank you.
Land said data shows that recognized employees are 45% less likely to leave, and 95% of drivers say that coaching has had a positive impact on their driving.
Samsara’s AI and automation help safety managers with lean teams scale driver coaching and recognition.
AI analyzes hundreds of risky driving events, considering factors like severity, frequency, road conditions and total drive time, and automatically sends low-risk behaviors to drivers for self-coaching and escalates higher-risk events to managers. The AI provides insight into big picture behavioral trends across drivers and trips, so managers can coach based on driving patterns, not just isolated incidents.
And with the revamped driver app, drivers can now receive quick TikTok-style coaching videos. The app also has new gamification features and recognition tools to reinforce safe behavior.
For example, there’s a blue bar that highlights “streaks” of continuous safe speed.
“We have brought gamification right into it,” Land said. “We believe this is a great way to engage the drivers and make safety fun, rather than making it penalizing.”
