Local offerings from Bosch India drive transition to IoT era
Bosch India is driving the transition to the internet of things (IoT) era by drawing on its innovations and over a century’s legacy. With technological supremacy being built on the foundation of connectivity, Bosch has been developing local solutions that specifically cater to the needs of the Indian customer.
“The journey towards ‘connected’ began years ago at Bosch India. We have been investing in the region consistently and for the financial year 2017-18 we will invest over Rs 900 crore,” Soumitra Bhattacharya, President, Bosch Group India, and Managing Director, Bosch Limited, said. Elaborating on the need to invest today in future technologies, he further said, “Roughly 15% of our yearly investment is directed towards R&D activities. The region accounts for over 30% of the Group’s R&D engineer pool, making Bosch India the largest centre outside Germany with 18,500 engineers.”
Bosch creates cutting-edge services to gather intelligence and deliver meaningful insights. Speaking in this regard, Vijay Ratnaparkhe, Managing Director and President, Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions, announced the launch of a locally developed Micro Climate Monitoring System (MCMS) in New Delhi. “Climate risk is pertinent irrespective of where you are located. When mostly all aspects of daily life are connected and compatible, it only makes sense to have an accurate indicator of environmental quality levels to devise the best living and working conditions,” he said.
MCMS can aid in relaying critical information such as Particulate Matter, NOx, Carbon Monoxide, and other important environmental parameters, by which the quality of life for citizens can be enhanced. Elaborating further Ratnaparkhe said, “In the age of IoT when all devices are interconnected and can speak with one another, air quality monitoring is just one of the many technologies that enable this connectivity and better decisionmaking even for industries.”
Across all regions, Bosch roughly files 18 patents per working day. In India, drawing on the strength of its vast R&D base, since 2006 the Group has filed over 1,000 patents. “Bosch India’s R&D journey will gain momentum as India is one of the 3 locations identified by the global team to set up an artificial intelligence centre,” Ratnaparkhe said. In 5 years, products featuring artificial intelligence are expected to account for 10% of Bosch Group’s sales globally.
Connected solutions
In February 2017, Bosch launched locally developed connected vehicle solutions for commercial vehicles and passenger vehicle fleet. The product allows the owner to track, trace, geofence and get custom alerts in case of any deviations. It is connected directly to the vehicle’s battery and does not rely on emission norms and therefore all vehicles under BS-II, BS-III and BS-IV can also reap the benefit of this solution. In addition to the device, Bosch provides external interfaces, such as the panic button and fuel sensor to offer an integrated and connected solution. Bosch India now provides answers pertaining to questions relating to a car’s health, safety and comfort of passengers at the tip of one’s finger.
Internet of ‘my’ things
Bosch is turning things into partners, and its worldwide leadership in Microelectromechanical Sensors (MEMS) is aiding this cause. The retail industry, in particular, is benefitting from the personalization of IoT based on insights gained from studying the behavior and preferences of users. It enables the personalization of products/ services, enhancement of existing offerings, and the deployment of virtual personal assistants.
Bosch’s one-stop smart retail solutions range from asset monitoring and fleet management, to energy monitoring and in-store analytics. These bridge the retail gap between physical and digital stores and improve customer offerings. The personalized IoT solutions of Bosch deliver benefits of reduced costs, increased revenues, efficient operations and improved customer experience.