CV TRENDS

CV trends indicate a rising use of big data to shape up products and strategies.

- Bhushan Mhapralkar

A new truck is about to roll out of the Mahindra & Mahindra’s Pune facility. Its ECU is being flashed at one of the last few stations on the final assembly line. Forming a core part of the truck’s functioning in real-world environment, the ECU or Electronic Control Module is highly electronic in nature. It is central to the functioning of the vehicle. Key to its mechatronic nature with an inline fuel injection a thing of the past, the ECU is the nerve centre of the common-rail engine powering this truck. The small aluminium cased box with heat sinks on it is at the heart of various electronic systems onboard the truck, including many other smaller such ECUs through a robust CAN-based communication network. Forming a backbone or facilitator of smooth and efficient working of the truck, the ECU is also a point of contact for seeking information about the truck from the outside! It is also a point of contact for transmitting information to the truck. Pointing at the passage of much data that would reveal information about the health of the vehicle, its location, the amount of fuel, speed, direction, driver behaviour, and much more, to its manufacturer as well as the operator, the new Mahindra truck, after it hits the road will be a ‘connected’ in nature.