Bertrandt GUIDE Innovation Cluster

Rethinking individual mobility

In addition to high flexibility in terms of time and space, the most important core issue of modern individual mobility is ecological sustainability. For that reason, regardless of the type of powertrain installed, there is a need for smart and above all sustainable solutions that convince the end user due to their practicality. With our Bertrandt GUIDE innovation cluster, our aim is to provide new impulses on the way towards sustainable mobility: through user-specific innovation – and together with you. And we’re already doing it today!

Bertrandt GUIDE – Guide for Intelligent Driving Efficiency

In our innovation cluster called Bertrandt GUIDE (Guide for Intelligent Driving Efficiency), we develop new functionalities that not only turn the vehicle into a fully customizable partner, but also optimize driving time and the route taken. State-of-the-art cloud computing enables us to keep the vehicle up-to-date by providing software and updates over-the-air and to design concepts that successively improve the vehicle’s ecological footprint, regardless of the type of powertrain that is installed.

A first demo version is based on the combination of a mobile app and a native Android Automotive application. To make its use as practical as possible, Bertrandt has developed an app that is synchronized automatically with existing systems, such as a calendar, reminders, or to-do lists, to provide ideal daily planning. A powerful optimization algorithm on the backend in the Microsoft Azure Cloud puts the destinations planned in the app in an optimum order, while taking individually specified determinants into account, thus actively reducing the amount of time on the road. The shorter travel time not only relieves the burden on the driver’s own time management, it also helps to reduce traffic on the roads, lowers emissions, and improves the ecological balance day by day by achieving a targeted conservation of resources.

State-of-the-art technologies for more sustainability and efficiency

Backend

The cloud is the linchpin of Bertrandt GUIDE. The backend runs in the Azure Cloud and implements the MQTT Broker in C#. It brings together all the necessary information, for example from the mobile app or potential real-time data from the vehicle, such as its state of charge or its current location. Among other things, the backend processes the messages from the mobile app by converting address names into geolocation data. It determines the time and distance between the different locations and creates all the necessary prerequisites in order to then calculate the optimum route. Route optimization also takes place on the server using a self-implemented, high-performance optimization algorithm.

What happens in the algorithm?

The optimization algorithm provides an efficient solution to what has become known as the ‘traveling salesman problem’. The challenge lies in particular in the combination of flexible and time-limited events and locally bound events. Every combination of flexible types of events or ones that are not locally bound, such as refueling or shopping, are solved as a separate optimization problem according to the following scheme:

The routing problem is modeled as a Mixed Integer Linear Problem (MIP) and solved by an external solver.

The technology at a glance:

Azure Cloud
C#
MQTT
WebAPI for location services
Route optimization algorithm

Mobile app

Bertrandt GUIDE is not aimed at creating a further app that needs to be maintained separately. Instead, existing systems, calendars, notes, reminders, and to-do lists are integrated and synchronized in real time, regardless of whether they are for business or private purposes. The app intelligently links destinations, activities, and appointments with one another, thus further reducing the amount of maintenance required with every use. Planning for a day is carried out using the mobile app.

The mobile app is created with the cross-platform framework Flutter using the Dart programming language. In this way, apps for the web, Android, and iOS are created. The mobile app provides an MQTT client for communication with the backend service.

The technology at a glance:

Flutter
Dart
MQTT

Native Android Automotive app

Through its connection to the vehicle, Bertrandt GUIDE also processes the current traffic situation and offers possible options for calculating the range of the vehicle and the stops for recharging or refueling along the route. The automotive app is a native Android Automotive application. It is created in the Kotlin programming language and offers huge potential for customization. Communication with the backend takes place via MQTT. The MapBox Navigation UI SDK is used for navigation, while Gradle is employed in the build process.

The technology at a glance:

Kotlin
Gradle
External libraries for navigation

Shaping the future together

Designed as an innovation cluster, Bertrandt GUIDE can be modified to suit very different user segments – such as sales representatives, maintenance engineers, delivery services, or even large families. The vehicle is not only a convenient means of transportation, it also becomes a genuine partner in everyday life. Such a solution can even play a role in sustainable last-mile logistics and can make shuttle services more efficient and provide a convincing add-on for tradespeople and service vehicles.

Our experts will be happy to assist you!

Benefit from the enormous potential for customization and the many expansion options of our core concept and let us adapt Bertrandt GUIDE to the needs of your user group.

Have we aroused your interest? Please do not hesitate to contact us and find out more about Bertrandt GUIDE and other software-driven functions.

Our expert teams will support you in every step of your project – from the initial idea to series-production readiness!