Latest news with #Geotab
Irish Independent
a day ago
- Automotive
- Irish Independent
State still missing targets despite 70pc of new vehicles bought last year being electric
Analysis by transport management firm Geotab shows that while the public sector is setting the pace for replacement of petrol and diesel with electric, it still has a long way to go. At the end of last year, 782 of a total of 13,058 state-owned vehicles were fully electric – up from 550 in 2023. It is a significant improvement on 2019, when the Government first set a target for EV adoption for the whole country. It emerged at the time that just 13 state-owned cars were electric. Since then, the percentage of the fleet that is powered by electricity has grown from 1.1pc in 2020 to 1.7pc in 2021, 2.6pc in 2022, 4.3pc in 2023 and 6pc in 2024. However, the fleet has also almost doubled in size in that period, so there are now more petrol and diesel cars to replace. Across the country, the proportion of fully electric vehicles on Irish roads is around just 3pc. Buying electric also made better financial sense, with a possible saving of €12,900 per vehicle over a seven-year period 'While the latest figures on the increasing number of EVs in the state fleet make for positive reading, there is still a long way to go in terms of adoption of zero-emission vehicles,' said Oliver Holt of Geotab. 'The Public Sector Climate Action Mandate has clearly been a positive influence, but significant momentum now needs to be built whereby vehicles are being proactively replaced as opposed to waiting for procurement cycles in order for the change to finally happen.' The mandate requires government departments and state bodies to buy only zero-emission vehicles wherever possible. It was drawn up to set an example for the rest of the country, to ensure taxpayers' money was being spent on cleaner options and to help boost supply in the second-hand EV market. Geotab analysis found buying electric also made better financial sense, with a possible saving of €12,900 per vehicle over a seven-year period. Under the country's first Climate Action Plan, published in 2019, the aim was to have 945,000 EVs by 2030. Latest indications are that the very best that might be achieved by then if there is a rapid acceleration in switching from petrol and diesel is 640,750.
Cision Canada
2 days ago
- Business
- Cision Canada
"Who are my safest drivers?": Fleet managers turn to AI for safety insights
Geotab reveals the most common prompts submitted to its GenAI assistant, Geotab Ace ® - with safety the clear priority ATLANTA, June 3, 2025 /CNW/ - Geotab Inc. ("Geotab"), a global leader in connected vehicle and asset tracking solutions, has revealed the most common prompts in Geotab Ace, the company's Generative AI (GenAI) assistant for fleet managers, over the past 12 months. The top five prompts since Geotab launched the early adopter program for Geotab Ace in May 2024 include: Who are my safest drivers? Which drivers have the most improved safety record? Which drivers speed the most? What were my least utilized vehicles last month? List all devices not communicating The list reveals how safety is the top priority for fleet managers. The prompts also suggest that managers are not just identifying risk but actively tracking progress. This points to a coaching mindset over a punitive one, where the goal is to encourage safer behavior through regular feedback and recognition. The high frequency of safety-related questions also shows how important driver performance is to daily fleet operations. In May 2024, over 100 companies signed up to be part of the early adopter program to evaluate and provide feedback on Geotab Ace. The GenAI assistant, now used by over 1,500 companies, is capable of processing vast quantities of telematics data quickly, speeding up time to insight. "With Geotab Ace, we're seeing practical, immediate gains in productivity and insight," said Mike Branch, Geotab Vice President Data & Analytics. "What's striking is the quality of prompts - fleet managers are asking smart, targeted questions, and they're doing it confidently. That's only possible because Geotab Ace is built on a trusted, structured data foundation. This is a perfect example of where AI can be put to real use. It's not about replacing people; but rather equipping teams with better tools." "What's especially encouraging is how fleet managers are using GenAI to improve safety and driver wellbeing. They're asking not just who's underperforming, but who's improving, and that shows a real shift toward a supportive, coaching-based approach. That's the kind of progress we want AI to support." Complex questions, answered in seconds While many queries focus on daily fleet operations, some users are pushing Geotab Ace to handle highly specific, multi-part questions - combining logic, data conditions, and formatting requirements. These are not simple data pulls; they are complex, time-consuming analyses that would traditionally take hours to assemble manually. Examples include: Provide: total engine hours, idle hours, average fuel cost, and gallons/hour during idling — for all trucks Show seatbelt violations that occurred while vehicles were over 30mph Calculate November 2024 utilization per vehicle (driven >25 km/day = utilized). Return: Asset name, Days driven, Total days, Utilization % Find zone visits to "Zone X" that lasted more than 15 minutes in the last week Show dwell time in "[zone name]" ignoring departures under 15 minutes. Return: Vehicle name, date, enter/exit time, dwell time (EST, hh:mm) These kinds of requests show how quickly fleet managers are becoming confident in Ace's ability to handle more than surface-level queries. They're starting to rely on it for deeper insights, without needing to write a line of code. This focus on safety, particularly the emphasis on identifying and improving driver performance, aligns with urgent broader industry challenges and evolving driver needs. A recent Geotab survey revealed that 68% of North American drivers surveyed, and 69% of European drivers surveyed expressed support for new technology to help improve their overall driving performance, validating Geotab's proactive approach to leveraging innovation for enhanced safety and driver welfare. Geotab Ace offers ultimate privacy and security In a data-driven age, information integrity and security remain a critical priority. Designed with a commitment to privacy and security protocols, Geotab Ace user data is safely handled within Geotab's own secure environment, reinforcing trust and safeguarding the value of the insights delivered. In line with its launch of Geotab Ace, the company released its Responsible AI Guide, highlighting the unique challenges posed by the development of the model and how Geotab mitigated and learned from them. For additional details on Geotab Ace and the Early Adopters Program, please visit About Geotab Geotab is a global leader in connected vehicle and asset solutions, empowering fleet efficiency and management. We leverage advanced data analytics and AI to transform fleet performance, safety, and sustainability, reducing cost and driving efficiency. Backed by top data scientists and engineers, we serve over 55,000 global customers, processing 80 billion data points daily from more than 4.7 million vehicle subscriptions. Geotab is trusted by Fortune 500 organizations, mid-sized fleets, and the largest public sector fleets in the world, including the US Federal Government. Committed to data security and privacy, we hold FIPS 140-3 and FedRAMP authorizations. Our open platform, ecosystem of outstanding partners, and Marketplace deliver hundreds of fleet-ready third-party solutions. This year, we're celebrating 25 years of innovation. Learn more at and follow us on LinkedIn or visit Geotab News and Views. ©2025 Geotab Inc. All rights reserved. All trademarks property of their respective owners in Canada and other countries. Geotab, the Geotab logo and Geotab Ace are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Geotab Inc. and/or its affiliates. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. SOURCE Geotab Inc.
Techday NZ
22-05-2025
- Business
- Techday NZ
Google unveils Gemini 2.5 updates for enhanced AI on Vertex
Google has introduced enhancements to its Gemini 2.5 Flash and Pro AI models, expanding capabilities on the Vertex AI platform for organisations seeking more sophisticated and secure AI-driven applications. The latest updates to Gemini 2.5 Flash and Pro models focus on three principal areas: providing more transparent reasoning with 'thought summaries', introducing a new Deep Think mode for advanced problem solving, and strengthening protection against indirect prompt injection attacks. The 'thought summaries' feature is designed to improve clarity and auditability of enterprise AI systems. It systematically organises a model's raw thoughts, including key details and tool usage, into a clear format. The company said this would allow customers to validate complex AI tasks, ensure alignment with business logic, and simplify debugging processes. The aim is to build systems that are more trustworthy and dependable, addressing a key challenge in enterprise-scale AI deployments. For complex use cases such as mathematics and programming, Gemini 2.5 Pro is introducing an enhanced reasoning mode called Deep Think. This feature enables the model to consider multiple hypotheses simultaneously before producing a response. Utilising new research techniques in parallel thinking, Google intends for this to help in highly complex scenarios. Gemini 2.5 Pro Deep Think will initially be available to trusted testers via Vertex AI. Security remains a priority with the updated models. Google has increased Gemini's protection rate against indirect prompt injection attacks during tool use, aiming to make it more suitable for enterprise adoption where security compliance is often critical. The company describes Gemini 2.5 as its most secure model family to date. Gemini 2.5 Flash will become generally available on Vertex AI in early June, with Gemini 2.5 Pro to follow soon after. Google asserts that these updates will have a tangible impact on business operations, from streamlining processes to improving customer engagement. Enterprise users have reported efficiencies using Gemini 2.5 on Vertex AI. Mike Branch, Vice President Data & Analytics at Geotab, commented on the balance between performance and efficiency: "With respect to Geotab Ace (our data analytics agent for commercial fleets), Gemini 2.5 Flash on Vertex AI strikes an excellent balance. It maintains good consistency in the agent's ability to provide relevant insight to the customer question, while also delivering 25% faster response times on subjects where it has less familiarity. What's more, our early analysis suggests it could operate at potentially 85% lower cost per question compared to the Gemini 1.5 Pro baseline. This efficiency is vital for scaling AI insights affordably to our customers via Ace." Gemini 2.5 Pro is positioned as the most advanced model for more intricate enterprise requirements. In addition to Deep Think, it introduces features such as configurable Thinking Budgets, supporting up to 32,000 tokens of processing for finer control over resource allocation and more complex tasks. Yashodha Bhavnani, Vice President of AI Product Management at Box, described Gemini 2.5 Pro's role in addressing unstructured data: "Box is revolutionising how enterprises interact with their vast, and rarely organised, amounts of content. With Box AI Extract Agents, powered by Gemini 2.5 on Vertex AI, users can instantly extract precise insights from complex, unstructured content – whether it's scanned PDFs, handwritten forms, or image-heavy documents. Gemini 2.5 Pro's advanced reasoning makes it the top choice for tackling complex enterprise tasks, delivering 90%+ accuracy on complex extraction use cases and outperforming previous models in both clause interpretation and temporal reasoning, leading to a significant reduction in manual review efforts. This evolution pushes the boundaries of automation, allowing businesses to unlock and act upon their most valuable information with even greater impact and efficiency." Diverse organisations, including LiveRamp, are looking to Gemini 2.5 to broaden data-driven capabilities across business lines. Roopak Gupta, Vice President Engineering at LiveRamp, said: "With its improved reasoning capabilities and insightful responses, Gemini 2.5 provides tremendous potential for LiveRamp. Its advanced features can enhance our data analysis agents and add support across our product suite, including segmentation, activation, and clean room-powered measurement for advertisers, publishers, and retail media networks. We are committed to assessing the model's impact across a wide array of features and functionalities to ensure our clients and partners can unlock new use cases and enhance existing ones." Members of the Google Developer Experts community have also begun building new solutions using Gemini 2.5's enhanced context and reasoning features. Recent examples include a persona-based news recommender for supply chain analysts, a disaster preparedness app that delivers personalised guidance from weather data, and a GitHub Action that automates pull request reviews to identify errors and inconsistencies early in the software development process. These developments highlight the ongoing efforts by Google to expand the enterprise and developer capabilities within Vertex AI as businesses continue adopting artificial intelligence for a range of applications.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Major company overhauls operations at largest food bank in US: 'Helping them stay focused on what matters most'
The largest food bank in the U.S. is becoming more energy efficient thanks to a large technology donation. Geotab announced last month that it was donating 100 vehicle-tracking devices and access to its fleet-management software to the Midwest Food Bank. The donation will allow MFB to track the efficiency of its food-delivery vehicles in near-real time. Geotab claimed that by tracking how fast vehicles go, how much vehicles idle, and the routes drivers take, MFB will be able to boost its efficiency, lower fuel costs, and increase safety. "But more importantly, we're helping them stay focused on what matters most—delivering critical hunger relief and disaster response to the communities that need it most," Geotab Senior Vice President Sherry Calkins said in a release. Food banks are a vital resource for people facing food insecurity. A Feeding America report found that roughly 1 in 6 people in the U.S. used a hunger relief program, such as food banks and local food pantries, in 2022. The U.S. Department of Agriculture added that 13.5% of U.S. households faced food insecurity in 2023. But you may be surprised to learn how important food banks are to the environment. Roughly one-third of U.S. food, or 80 million tons, is wasted each year. Producing that food required environmental resources, and once in landfills, much of that waste will produce harmful carbon pollution. Food banks can redirect much of the food that would have otherwise gone to waste and get it in the hands of people who need it. MFB, which serves 25 states and has locations in East Africa and Haiti, rescued more than 144 million pounds of food in 2024 alone. Increasing fuel efficiency can also have huge environmental benefits. Transportation is responsible for nearly 30% of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S., more than any other sector. Within transportation, 80% of emissions come from vehicles, including cars and trucks. Which of these groups has the biggest role to play in reducing food waste? Grocery stores Restaurants Individuals The government Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Irish Examiner
15-05-2025
- Automotive
- Irish Examiner
Truck and van drivers say work pressure pushing them to regularly break speed limit
More than six out of 10 Irish truck and van drivers admitted regularly break the speed limit to complete jobs on time due to work pressure, a new European study has found. The report entitled The Unseen Toll: Driver Stress and Road Safety was carried out across Europe found that 66% of Irish drivers had considered quitting their jobs due to stress. The study questioned 3,501 commercial vehicle drivers across Ireland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the UK in April, with 500 Irish drivers responding. Half of European drivers surveyed (50% average) admitted feeling the need to regularly break speed limits to complete jobs on time, with Ireland highest at 64%. Nearly all drivers (95%) consider the risk of accidents to have increased over the last five years, with 61% reporting this increase as 'very' or 'quite significant'. Nearly two-thirds (64% average) stated that excessive traffic or roadworks make completing their jobs difficult. The survey was carried out on behalf of vehicle technology and solutions company Geotab and comes as more than 200,000 truck driving jobs are unfilled in Europe - a number predicted to rise to 745,000 by 2028. "These results are a stark reminder of the pressures faced by commercial drivers, impacting road safety for everyone. Europe's economy relies heavily on commercial vehicle drivers, yet stress is pushing them out of the industry and putting road safety at risk," Geotab senior vice-president Edward Kulperger. Against the backdrop of increased work pressures, many drivers feel unsupported by their employers. Over half (55%) said they feel uncomfortable approaching their employer for support with stress and other mental health concerns, rising to 66% in Ireland and 60% in Germany. Nearly half of respondents (47%) across Europe have considered quitting their jobs in the past 12 months, rising to 66% in Ireland. "Drivers face significant work-related stress, observe dangerous behaviours daily, and are often pressured by schedules, yet many feel unsupported or uncomfortable seeking help. With nearly half thinking about quitting - and that amidst a driver shortage - it is crucial for employers to provide better mental health support now." More than two-thirds (69%) of drivers support adopting technology to enhance driving performance. "As an industry, we must prioritise driver wellbeing, employing data and technology not just for efficiency, but to proactively create safer, less stressful environments," Mr Kulperger said.
