BOSTON, Mass. (PRWEB) October 19, 2015
LinkeDrive, Inc., a company delivering a new level of safety and efficiency to the transportation industry, today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted LinkeDrive U.S. Patent No. 9,135,759. This patent pertains to the real-time monitoring and coaching of fuel efficiency and driver safety via a mobile device linked to the engine controller and the cloud. Commercial vehicle operations ranging from owner-operators to larger carriers are using the PedalCoach® application on the LinkeDrive platform to maximize fuel efficiency, driver safety, and driver retention – three of the most critical issues facing the transportation industry today. By aligning incentives of executives, management, and drivers, the LinkeDrive platform is improving retention metrics measurably across its user-base.
LinkeDrive’s now-patented PedalCoach® application provides real-time, adaptive feedback for improving fuel efficiency and safety thus feeding the commercial carrier industry’s first truly fair, driver-centric pay-for-performance program for professional drivers. PedalCoach’s proprietary algorithms set a unique fueling target for each driver communicated in a simple red-yellow-green interface. Drivers now have an achievable, fair target; and fleet managers, the ability to monitor driving performance as data instantly flows to the cloud for analysis. Through the technology included in this patent, LinkeDrive has created a game-like interface that allows drivers to earn “points” for achieving optimal behaviors and patterns. Drivers can then be compensated on their ability to meet pre-established goals related to performance and safety.
“Our customers told us that the existing tools for managing driver behavior and fuel economy are simply neither enough nor effective. We learned that setting a fair MPG target is next to impossible given the varying equipment, loads, seasons, and lanes. We found that while critical event scorecards and in-cab cameras may improve some safety-related behaviors, they are difficult to correlate to MPG. We heard our customers asking, ‘How do I know if my drivers are doing the best they can given what they have to work with today?’. So we gave them a product that answers just that, while creating a profit-sharing pool of fuel savings for their drivers,” said Jeff Baer, LinkeDrive’s founder and CEO. “We are proud to be awarded this patent for our platform that is solving the key challenges we face in the transportation industry today. Our mission is to deliver a next generation fleet management system that empowers, rewards and engages the professional drivers who are so vital to America.”
LinkeDrive’s PedalCoach can be deployed on smartphones and tablet devices, and can be easily integrated with existing in-cab technology. Installations take under 20-minutes per truck, allowing fleets and drivers to start reaping the rewards of PedalCoach rapidly. Fleets can securely access driver and truck analytics to track trends, compare drivers, assess differences in truck models, and evaluate regional and seasonal variances in performance.
“I've been driving for over 10 years and well over a million miles, and PedalCoach has helped improve my driving every day,” said Peggy McCullah of Transport Distribution Company (TDC) of Joplin, Missouri. “As a prior owner and operator, I've always been focused on fuel efficiency. PedalCoach teaches me new ways to be even more fuel efficient and has helped me break bad habits I wasn't aware of. I love the impact it has on my fuel bonus!”
About LinkeDrive
Founded in 2012, LinkeDrive, Inc. is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Our experience and expertise spans solutions leveraging web, search, mobile, cloud, networking, business intelligence, vehicle dynamics, and alternative battery technologies. LinkeDrive is committed to helping customers save fuel, reduce accidents, and retain drivers. For further information, please visit http://www.linkedrive.com/.
