Netradyne} Computer vision & edge computing for smart fleet safety on the roads

This intelligent fleet safety startup aims to transform the transportation ecosystem through Computer Vision and in-depth data analysis to create a safer road for today.

A sad part of fast lives today is choking traffic and road accidents. In April, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari revealed that the percentage of fatalities involving road users between 18 to 45 years in India stood at 69.80% for the year 2020. India ranks number one per number of persons killed and ranks number three per number of persons injured in road accidents.

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Netradyne is using advanced computer vision technology to build safer and smarter roadways of tomorrow. The startup harnesses the power of Computer Vision and Edge Computing to revolutionize the modern-day transportation ecosystem. Organisations trust Netradyne to build a positive, safe, and driver-focused culture, so they can take their business to the next level.

The startup has successfully grown to reach 1,000+ fleets, across multiple industries, including some of the world’s largest fleets. The company has emerged as one of the leading fleet safety platforms, growing annual recurring revenue by over 300% in 2019 and the same in 2020.

The Tech Panda spoke to Durgadutt Nedungadi, Vice President – India and International Business at Netradyne, about how they’re using computer vision and edge computing to achieve safer roads.

Durgadutt Nedungadi

Since its inception in 2015, looking at the industry need gap, Netradyne harnessed the power of Computer Vision and Edge Computing to revolutionise the modern-day transportation ecosystem

“Today, we live in an age where too many lives are lost on the road. Unfortunately, a large number of these accidents and lost lives are caused due to drivers being distracted, overly fatigued, or just due to poor driving behaviour. Our aim is to improve driving behaviour through the use of vision based AI/ML, reduce accident rates and thereby save lives on the road,” he says.

The growing need to put driver safety first without compromising on cost or efficiency has led to the adoption of smart-camera based fleet management systems.

“Since its inception in 2015, looking at the industry need gap, Netradyne harnessed the power of Computer Vision and Edge Computing to revolutionise the modern-day transportation ecosystem.  Today, we are a category leader in commercial fleet operations, having pioneered a data-driven preventive and post-accident risk assessment mechanism for safe driving on roads,” he adds.

What They Do

Netradyne calls itself an industry leader in fleet safety solutions, immediately improving driver behavior and fleet performance, and setting the commercial vehicle driving standards. The startup collects and analyses data points and meaningful information, so customers can improve retention, increase profitability, enhance safety, and enable end-to-end transparency.

“At Netradyne, a world-class team of scientists and technologists came together to leverage edge computing on the device, AI, ML, and complex cloud tech in creating end-to-end driver safety solutions. The result of the collective efforts is the proprietary made in India device – Driveri®,” Nedungadi says with pride.

Fleet Camera System

Driveri® is a Vision-based Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) with outward cameras analysing the driving of the vehicle with respect to external factors, and an inward camera monitoring the driver characteristics. The system provides real-time feedback to the driver on potential impending events while capturing and recording various metrics with regard to the driver’s driving habits.

The system uses high-end processors and algorithms to essentially do two things – one-assess the performance of the drivers and provide real-time alerts through audio messages. The second – send this information along with the video for every single alert, to the fleet managers, who use it for coaching or incentivising drivers. The system also assigns a score based on the driving performance which helps the manager decide the incentives scientifically.

Driveri®: An End-To-End IoT System

Netradyne’s flagship device, the Driveri® platform, is an end-to-end IoT system. It comprises of an intelligent mobile video analytics device and a robust cloud-based fleet safety management center. The device capabilities include the following features:

• Dedicated AI Deep Learning TeraFLOP processor
• Patent-pending four-camera video system offering a driver’s perspective with a 360-degree Quad-HD field of view
• High data bandwidth, low latency 4G LTE cellular module with a global coverage footprint

Recently, the company launched the next-gen extension of Driveri®, Driver•iHubX, which retains the advanced features and functionality of its predecessor, while also offering additional storage to accommodate up to four external camera views.

“On the Driveri device itself we continue to innovate through features such as wake-on-motion, low power wake-up for accessing external videos in standby mode and GPIO connectivity to vehicle sensors to trigger vehicle recording,” Nedungadi explains.

Origin & Inspiration

The startup germinated when founders, Avneesh Agrawal and David Julian were inspired by the vision to solve road and driver safety problems across the world by using deep knowledge and vast experience in AI and Computer Vision.

Our mission is a strong commitment and drive to create a safer world for all fleets

“The visible huge need gap for advanced AI and vision-based safe driving telematics systems led us to start Netradyne. Our mission is a strong commitment and drive to create a safer world for all fleets,” Nedungadi recalls.

The Netradyne USP

Netradyne founded a self-learning advanced telematics system for fleet safety that triggers audio alerts to drivers, relays information to the manager in real-time, and assigns scores to drivers based on driving performance. The device assesses 21+ unsafe driving parameters such as drowsiness, texting, hard braking, etc.

It generates audio alerts that notify drivers in real-time, prompts them to correct driving behaviour, thus reducing incidents of accidents.

We have positioned ourselves as the category-defining leader through our most advanced vision-based driver safety system. We practically started the demand for a space like this that focuses on road accident/incident prevention rather than post facto investigation

“Above all, Netradyne is manufacturing this high-performing device in India, for the world,” says Nedungadi.

“We have positioned ourselves as the category-defining leader through our most advanced vision-based driver safety system. We practically started the demand for a space like this that focuses on road accident/incident prevention rather than post facto investigation,” he adds.

Growth Story

To date, Netradyne has raised US$197.5 million with the key investors being Reliance, Microsoft Corp, Point72, Hyundai, and Softbank.

Its monetisation model is a subscription model wherein it offers a per device/per month charge that includes the hardware, connectivity as well as cloud-based services benefits.

“From a revenue standpoint, we have grown our revenue at an annual rate of over 300% every year for the last three years. We crossed an annual recurring revenue of INR 500 crore early this year and are on track to cross 1000 crore ARR by the end of CY22,” Nedungadi reveals.

To share on the scale of our work- Driveri® has captured, processed, and analysed over five billion miles of driving, and continues to collect over one billion minutes every single month. This highlights the processing magnitude and training that the system endures, thereby making it more intelligent and resilient than any device out there

He further informs that their customers are commercial fleet owners/operators that include globally renowned companies such as Munich Re, TITAN Freight, Shah Trucking, Grand Island Express, one of the largest oil and gas MNCs operating in India, and a leading Indian cash management company operating more than 1500 ATM replenishment and cash carrying vehicles, several school bus operators, and some of the largest logistics companies in the world.

“We have over 1400 customers globally. To share on the scale of our work- Driveri® has captured, processed, and analysed over five billion miles of driving, and continues to collect over one billion minutes every single month. This highlights the processing magnitude and training that the system endures, thereby making it more intelligent and resilient than any device out there,” he adds.

Future Plans

Netradyne has ambitious plans for the future.

“We believe that the vast majority of all vehicles on the road for the next 10+ years will be driven by humans. Therefore, technology advancements to assist drivers in reducing accidents continues to be our primary focus. The goal would be to get to zero accidents although we have a long way to go before we get there,” says Nedungadi.

Currently, their primary business is focused on after-market sales. But they are working with a few OEMs to directly integrate their tech into new commercial vehicles, a trend they expect to accelerate over time.

We believe that the vast majority of all vehicles on the road for the next 10+ years will be driven by humans. Therefore, technology advancements to assist drivers in reducing accidents continues to be our primary focus

From a market perspective, the global market size for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) is expected to grow from US$27 billion in 2020 to US$58 billion in 2028, at a CAGR of 11.4%.

“We are looking at global expansion,” he says, revealing that after being present in the US and India for a few years now, the startup has already launched in Australia, New Zealand, and the UK in 2022.

Plans are to launch in Canada, Mexico, and several countries in Europe and Asia over the next 12 months.

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“We have the most advanced technology in the industry. We have focused on operational efficiency right from day one. And now we are going for global scale,” he adds.

“Our goal is to maintain our position as an industry leader in fleet safety solutions by improving driver behavior, fleet performance and setting the driving standards for commercial vehicles. Many organisations trust us to build a positive, safe, and driver-focused culture, so that they can take their business to the next level,” he concludes.

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