Beyond Bluetooth: Re-inventing the Connected Two-Wheeler

‍‍Connectivity has permeated every aspect of daily life through our homes, smartphones, IoT devices, and vehicles, including two-wheelers. People who ride motorcycles, scooters or e-bikes demand safe, comfortable and efficient experiences at every turn, enabled by connected vehicle technologies. Yet not all connected vehicle solutions are created equal. Many 2-wheeler OEMs have launched connected products, largely based on smartphone integration and external connectivity. Building upon this however, the future of the connected 2-wheeler landscape is bright as more OEMs seek to leverage full embedded connectivity to re-invent the ownership experience, keep maintenance and service costs low, innovate new use cases, and monetize new services.

Connected Two-Wheeler Landscape

From light scooters to high performance super-bikes and everywhere in between, all 2-wheeler OEMs can benefit from a full vehicle-to-cloud connected platform to better serve customer needs, increase product marketability and improve safety. Manufacturers that go beyond tethered smartphone methods are realizing new gains by logging actionable real time vehicle data, and providing a seamless connected experience between riders and their vehicles.

According to Mordor Intelligence, the connected two-wheeler market is growing at a CAGR of 40% to 2026 fueled by electrification, advancements in IoT, embedded connectivity and technologies like software over-the-air updates to keep vehicles fresh and owners happy.

As vehicles of all makes and models are becoming more connected, electrified, and digital, so too are 2-wheelers. Starting with Bajaj Auto’s Neuron to Hero Motor’s Hero Connect, Harley-Davidson’s H-D Connect, or Triumph’s My Triumph, most two-wheeler OEMs have some means to deliver a connected experience. Yet most of today's connected bike experiences rely on mobile-app based connectivity and have yet to fully integrate embedded software and data for core ECU software updates (powertrain, transmission, body controls, suspension, ADAS, ABS, and various sensors) with real time logging of actionable vehicle data. As demand and competition increases to never-before-seen levels, unlocking new connected offerings visa-vi embedded systems is vital to staying ahead and capitalizing on new routes to market, such as gig-economy fleet sales or mobility/bike-as-a-service ecosystems.

Connected Two-Wheeler Use Cases‍

Piggybacking off of deeper connectivity opens up new doors to create a broader range of use cases across the entire value chain, at any stage of the vehicle life cycle, from pre-production to post-sale: 

OEM Considerations

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Two-wheeler OEMs have been closely watching the connected car platforms of their 4-wheeled counterparts, evaluating whether to build or buy, and in either case, are faced with justifying increased production cost. Some 2-wheeler manufacturers are already invested in embedded connectivity to facilitate limited data abstraction up to the mobile app layer and vehicle cluster. However, doing this at full vehicle-to-cloud scale requires a significant amount of time, funding, expertise, coordination and focus.

The modern connected 2-wheeler platform should facilitate three core pillars for success: software updates, data collection, and remote commands - to and from every ECU and sensor, across various networks, geographies and the cloud. As both a in-vehicle and cloud-based solution, there are also a myriad of compliance requirements that must be met including UNECE WP.29, SOC II Type 1 and Type 2, GDPR, CCPA, ISO 26262, and ASPICE Level II & III. With this approach, OEMs can safely and securely rollout on-demand updates en masse to enable new connected features, collect real-time meaningful data across global fleets, and deploy core ECU software updates/upgrades to targeted vehicle populations or regions, without dealer intervention.
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Given the unique hardware, memory and connectivity constraints of 2-wheel products, careful consideration must be given to existing component scalability factors and cost, as the number of vehicles that go online grows into millions over a 5-7 year time horizon.
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For OEMs that don't have a working solution today, spending 3 years to build one means lost opportunity and poses inherit risks if not built by a dedicated team whose core focus is to make things work. With the help of product-based connected vehicle solutions, Service Oriented Architecture and API-driven integration, OEMs can accelerate the journey to building a fully connected bike ecosystem.

Connected Two-Wheeler Platform‍

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Upgrading the Mobile App Experience

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The mobile app and vehicle cluster should be connected to provide seamless onboard navigation, messages and alerts at a minimum. Additionally, the variety of new use cases that can be built from deep connected two-wheeler platforms gives OEMs the opportunity to efficiently upgrade the mobile app experience with host of other connected bike features including but not limited to: 

• Anti-theft detection & immobilization
• Charging or fuel status with nearby stations
• Crash event detection & emergency service alerting
• Electric vehicle battery and range status
• Geofencing for parental (or fleet) controls
• Location sharing and services
• Phone-as-a-FOB
• Recall and bug fixes Over-the-Air
• Remote diagnostic debugging & services
• Remote vehicle lock and unlock
• Rider profile and trip histories
• Service scheduling & maintenance alerts
• Social group ride planning
• Subscription-based features on demand
• Traffic aware navigation
• Trip logs - miles, routes, energy consumption
• Vehicle health - battery, engine, brakes, headlamps

In addition to new consumer features delivered via mobile apps, there are numerous B2B use cases that can be unlocked with deep connectivity for OEMs and their partners, including ride-sharing, fleet analytics, service management, warranty claim processing, recall avoidance, Usage-Based Insurance, driver behavior monitoring, and much more.

How Sibros Helps

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In summary, two-wheelers are hardware constrained products with only a handful of ECUs that must already carry out safety-critical functions flawlessly. When layering in new capabilities to push and pull all software and data between many bikes and the cloud, it's imperative OEMs adopt a connected platform that can do so with minimal impact on production time and cost, and within the limits of existing hardware and ECU configurations. Sibros' Deep Connected Platform serves the unique needs of 2-wheeler OEMs with deep, safe and secure OTA software updates, data collection, remote commands, and fleet management from a single system. With market-leading features such as selective logging, edge data filtering and compression, A/B and integral updates, software inventory management, fleet analytics, pre-packaged mobile apps and more, Sibros helps forward-thinking 2-wheeler OEMs accelerate their journey to connected vehicle success. Contact us to learn more.