World premiere: TiGR data interface according to international ITxPT standard now available at Omniplus

• Standardized data interface for networking mixed fleets
• Data transfer without expensive retrofitting
• One data language for the entire fleet
• Greater profitability through uniform data standards

Daimler Buses is one of the first vehicle manufacturers in Europe to offer its customers a data interface for remote bus monitoring that has been certified according to the internationally universal ITxPT standard: the virtual interface TiGR (Telediagnostic for intelligent Garage in Real-time). Thanks to the harmonized interface with a universal transmission protocol, transport operators can now simplify vehicle analyses and obtain a homogeneous database for the entire fleet.

Data transfer without expensive retrofitting

Mercedes-Benz buses such as the eCitaro or the eCitaro fuel cell feature a real-time communication module as standard. This allows the vehicle data, consumption, battery charge levels, hydrogen fill level, remaining range and any fault messages to be transmitted in real time over the internet to head office, where they can be displayed and evaluated. Omniplus On offers several virtual interfaces with different scopes. Data transfer using the cloud not only saves the time it takes to manually read out data from the FMS interface and diagnostic device. It also transmits the data in real time, takes care of the analysis and interpretation of the data and thus enables up-to-date warning messages and up-to-date status analyses of the fleet at any time.

One data language for the entire fleet

Transport companies with mixed fleets or telematics and fleet management solutions from third-party providers in particular have been faced with major challenges to date due to the different data structures of different brands and their integration into their own ITC and fleet management systems. For this reason, the ITxPT organization (Information Technology for Public Transport), co-initiated by the International Association of Public Transport (UITP), in which Daimler Buses is also a member, has developed an internationally universal data interface with a universal data protocol for local public transport vehicles and in particular for buses.

Daimler Buses is now offering the ITxPT TiGR data package from Omniplus On for all Mercedes-Benz buses. With this new, virtual data interface, transport companies are now able to communicate optimally with all ITxPT-compliant devices in the back office. Another advantage:  Essential data points such as fuel and energy consumption are already interpreted when they are transmitted. This facilitates data processing and increases added value. In addition, the virtual interface provides more data than the physical FMS interface, some of which is already processed, and thus offers a good basis for analysis for a more efficient fleet management system.

Greater profitability through uniform data standards

With the standardized TiGR vehicle data interface, local public transport companies can handle different telematics and analysis systems more flexibly. The open system offers more options and saves costs for additional hardware. As more and more telematics service providers are already ITxPT-certified, the connection between the interfaces is established in no time at all and ensures cost-effective integration into the system environment for transport companies. The TiGR standard ensures that the data transmitted is always of the highest quality. It can therefore be used both for comprehensive data analysis and for the integration of third-party systems.

The more than 100 data points of the new, standardized TiGR interface from Omniplus On go beyond the previously physically installed FMS connection and are mapped in special, standardized data fields. These are called system events and are automatically sent to the operator’s systems by “data push”. Basically, the system differentiates between different types of event codes, for example, vehicle faults and calculated data. A lot of data is transmitted having already been processed, for example, the fuel and energy consumption, the number of times the doors have been opened and the duration during which a fault has already been applying. This interlinked and calculated data significantly increases the informative value and comparability within fleets with vehicles from different manufacturers. This makes the path to predictive maintenance possible for transport companies.

The new interface was developed and tested in cooperation with and in accordance with the requirements of many local public transport companies together with the ITxPT organization, co-initiated by the UITP. Of course, the TiGR interface also meets the highest standards for data integrity and data security.