ORLANDO, Fla. — Seeing is believing. And when it comes to cargo in a fleet’s trailer, knowing it is loaded and properly secured can increase efficiencies and improve ROI. Spireon Inc.’s FleetLocate system can now show a real-time image from inside a trailer with a click of a button.
Vehicle intelligence company Spireon unveiled the next phase of its IntelliScan cargo-sensing technology with the release of Image Capture and Retrieval, which builds upon its Intelligent Trailer Management (ITM) platform. The new technology was released during the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) Truckload 2020 Conference.
“Amost two years ago, we released a new type of cargo sensor,” Roni Taylor, senior vice president of strategy and business development at Spireon, told Fleet Owner at TCA 2020. “Traditionally, they've always been ultrasonic. But this one is a combination of time-of-flight laser and a camera. Because the ultrasonic, we discovered, was about 80% reliable. And what we really what our customers really wanted was something that was as close to 100% reliable as possible.”
IntelliScan, which launched in 2018, features advanced detection methods that use a proprietary combination of optical imaging and laser-time-of-flight sensing that, according to Spireon, offers 99.9% accuracy in cargo detection.
With IntelliScan, the FleetLocate trailer management solution reads the entire 53’ trailer in extreme environmental conditions, and with varied and irregular load types such as “soft” cargo like carpet or paper. Using artificial intelligence and machine learning that detects cargo, carriers get access to information and images that could help combat detention and ensure trailer readiness.
“They say a picture is worth a thousand words; in the transportation industry, it’s worth countless dollars,” said Jim AuBuchon, president and CEO at Premier Trailer Leasing. “Image Capture and Retrieval is a game-changer for us and our leasing customers.”
This new feature of laser-precision cargo monitoring and near real-time images as an option for fleets came about organically, Taylor said. “We started actually seeing the images internally. And the folks in the sales organization and myself thought, wow, what if we actually made these images available to the customers? So that actually led us to talk to our advisory committee about it. Develop do the work internally. And just to see what it would take to actually make the images available for download in our user interface. So this is this is the part of the cargo sensor that we're announcing today.”
The images are now available is inside the FleetLocate user interface. Fleet managers can pick a trailer or pick a number of trailers see images taken from inside the trailer.
“How many times have you wished you had eyes inside your trailer when you’re trying to validate a detention bill? How many times have you sent a driver for a trailer only to find it’s still loaded?” asked Roni Taylor, senior vice president of strategy and business development at Spireon. “With IntelliScan, not only will you know with unprecedented accuracy when a trailer is loaded or empty, now you can see it, save it and share it.”
The ability to capture images from inside trailers could change the way carriers manage drivers, trailers and business relationships. With IntelliScan Image Capture and Retrieval, carriers can:
- Keep drivers driving by ensuring a trailer is empty before scheduling pickup
- Increase detention billing accuracy and improve shipper practices with proof of load/unload
- Improve worker safety and lower liability by detecting cargo load shift before doors open
- Minimize cargo damage and increase efficiency by detecting improper loading
- Resolve claims confidently with timestamped images that prove or disprove cargo/trailer damage
- Recover stolen cargo and aid in prosecution with timestamped documentation
