DATA IS THE NEW OIL early . This is just one example of many many use cases .” This naturally led one to ask whether Daimler ’ s vehicles can , in essence , talk to vehicles made by other manufacturers .
“ We ’ re in a consortium with both VW and BMW ,” Brecht continues , “ and the consortium acquired a company called HERE , which is the number one competitor to Google Maps and will be vital in using the data from cars in examples like ice on roads . We are integrating the map data with the sensor data so the car can literally look around the corner .”
Manufacturing maturity Software has also become an increasingly important lynch pin of a vehicle ’ s manufacturing process . Brecht introduces what Daimler calls a ‘ digital twin ’, which is a digital representation of a car at all stages during its life , from design and manufacturing to being out on the road . “ This is necessary because while metal and rubber may last 15 years without being changed , software can be upgraded multiple times a year ,” he explains .
Other manufacturing advances can be seen in the 3D printing space , something which Daimler has been utilising for spare parts for several years . While it may not displace other manufacturing processes , for Brecht it is a case of how far this can be taken . More exciting , however , is M2M communication via the Internet of Things .
Brecht cites one use case : “ We are a very asset heavy industry , so predictive maintenance that signals potentials problems in advance can greatly increase our utilisation of equipment . Even improving uptime by two or three percentage points can make a big difference .” This has already proven successful for welding guns , a predictive maintenance system which has now been rolled out across the board .
Strengthening the core External partners account for roughly two thirds of Daimler ’ s IT work , and a major priority for Brecht is to strengthen internal competency with one overriding objective in mind – speed .
Through a project called ‘ indirect to direct ’, Brecht will oversee three key approaches . The first is a matter
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