Volvo partners with Inrix to provide real-time analytics for drivers

Big data firm will help provide real-time traffic information in global partnership with car manufacturer

Volvo, one of the world's largest car manufacturers, has partnered with big data analytics company Inrix to provide drivers with what they call "the first live, real-time traffic service" to help "better tackle the challenges of daily driving."

As part of the collaborative project, Inrix will provide Volvo with real-time and predictive traffic information for better optimised routes, travel times and alerts to accidents and incidents on the road.

The real-time traffic information will be included in Volvo vehicles in 42 countries, meaning the deal represents Inrix's first global partnership with a car manufacturer.

Inrix Traffic will be first available in the new Volvo XC90, released this month, then all other future Volvo models.

"The addition of Inrix Traffic to Sensus Connect is the next step in providing drivers with useful services for their everyday life in the car," said Fredrik Marthinsson, manager of connected navigation and services at Volvo Cars.

"The real-time, dynamic flow of traffic information will allow Volvo drivers to find the fastest route with precise ETAs to their destination," he added.

Inrix big data analytics combines traffic information from its crowd-sourced network of connected vehicles, along with what's described as "insight from thousands of public and private sources" to provide Volvo cars with a real-time traffic service that covers 42 countries.

Bryan Mistele, president and CEO of Inrix, welcomed the partnership with Volvo, which sold over 450,000 cars in 2014 alone.

"Inrix is filling a critical gap for Volvo customers who expect a high standard of performance and innovation in their automobiles," he said.

"This global collaboration is another example of the breadth and quality of our traffic data, and indicates automakers' desire to solve a major pain point drivers face each day," Mistele added.

Volvo is getting into big data and analytics in a big way, as the company's director of business analytics, Jan Wassen, told Computing at the recent Teradata Partners 2015 conference in Anaheim, California.

"When we started the journey, we based it on warranty and quality data," said Wassen.

"We're continuing along that path, and are right now installing prediction models for failures to see if any component failure is starting to move up. It's a prediction model, and we predict reject rates, with a massive amount of analyses made every week."