A few months ago we met Fleet Europe, the leading European fleet publication for International fleet & mobility leaders.
Nicolas Chorine and Thibaut Cardinael are business developers for windshield damage detection solution Jack. They are part of the Incubation Factory of AGC Automotive, concentrating on disruptive technologies within the new mobility ecosystem. Jack has been developed with the expertise of AGC, a leading glass supplier worldwide.
Jack is an open and end-to-end telematics solution that detects, diagnoses and notifies vehicle glass damages in real time and for all types of vehicles. It provides maintenance recommendations. With Jack, our partners can save up to 50% on their glass costs by handling their windshield maintenance on-time.
Why is glass damage detection important?
Windshield damage is frequent and replacement is more and more costly. This is because of ADAS systems integrated behind the glass, such as cameras and radars. And glass repair experts estimate that 60% of windshield replacements could be prevented if maintenance was carried out in time. Jack allows to unlock that potential !
With increasing ADAS systems, is this solution going to become more important?
Yes, mobility is evolving and there are going to be more and more sensors behind the windshields. Already today, windshield replacement costs are increasing by over 5% per year. Today, only 25% of damaged windshields are repaired, and 75% are replaced.
How does your detection and notifying technology work?
The impact is detected by the telematics – for example a stone hitting the windshield. This event is communicated to a connectivity system located in the car which then communicates it to the cloud. The impact is then processed by our machine learning algorithms to characterize its severity and location on the windshield, which are used to provide maintenance recommendations.
Already today, windshield replacement costs are increasing by over 5% per year
In what way is Jack unique in the market?
It is the first solution which addresses the problem of rising windshield maintenance costs. Jack offers a very straightforward lever to insurers and fleet managers to reduce glass-related expenses. What is also unique is the convenience, no professional installation needed. Jack is self-powered with solar cells and no wires : it can be installed by anybody in less than 30 seconds and it can be removed easily and attached to another vehicle.
Who are your customers?
Jack is currently addressed to insurers, leasers, car rental companies, commercial fleets and public transportation. We are also looking at glass fitting networks, to provide a full maintenance service enabled by Jack, and at telematics service providers, to bundle with complementary services.
What is the advantage in terms of efficiency and cost reduction/ROI?
Customers can expect to have a positive ROI in less than a year by mitigating their glass maintenance costs up to 50%. Not only that, Jack also improves partner’s quality of service, productivity of staff, safety of drivers and carbon footprint.