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Motive expands UK platform with new AI fleet tools

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Motive has expanded its UK platform with new artificial intelligence tools for fleet operations and workforce management, adding vehicle camera systems, automation software and a driver rewards product.

The update targets transport, logistics and other physical operations sectors, where managers often still rely on separate systems and manual processes. It brings together new hardware, software and workforce tools on one platform.

Shoaib Makani, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Motive, said the expansion is part of a broader push to reduce the monitoring and administration handled by operations teams.

“Every operations leader we talk to describes a common set of problems: their systems are too fragmented, and their workflows are too manual. The answer is integration and automation,” Makani said.

“Motive has spent years breaking down the data silos. Now we’re helping our customers leverage AI to surface critical insights and automate interventions so they can run safer and more productive operations,” he added.

Vehicle monitoring

At the centre of the expansion is AI Omnicam Plus, a new camera system designed to give drivers a 360-degree view around a vehicle. It uses more than 30 AI models simultaneously to identify road hazards and warn drivers in real time.

Motive has also added features to AI Dashcam Plus, its in-vehicle camera and telematics device, including collision alerts, automated number plate recognition, speed sign detection and live two-way calling between drivers and managers.

The collision warning system tracks vehicles, cyclists, pedestrians and animals, then estimates whether they are likely to cross a driver’s path. Number plate recognition is designed to help capture evidence after incidents such as hit-and-runs, theft and road rage.

Speed sign detection reads road signs directly rather than relying only on map databases, while the calling feature allows hands-free communication from inside the vehicle. Together, these functions are intended to reduce distractions and help managers respond more quickly to fatigue, faults or severe weather.

Wayne Dawkins, Fleet Manager at VAD Commercials, said the technology had changed how the company runs its fleet.

“Motive has fundamentally shifted how we safeguard our drivers and manage our fleet,” Dawkins said.

“By integrating real-time detection with immediate action, the platform allows us to operate more safely, productively and profitably every single day. We have moved beyond simply identifying risk to proactively preventing it, and the new capability will help unlock even more as it helps us prevent more collisions and remove manual overhead,” he said.

From insight to action

Motive also introduced Atlas, an AI assistant that lets customers search data, analyse activity and trigger actions from one interface. It is connected to the company’s dashboard and can also be used with third-party AI tools including Claude and ChatGPT.

Atlas can be used for tasks such as checking vehicle health, reviewing safety events and handling compliance questions. It has also been built into a voice assistant for drivers, allowing spoken commands such as calling dispatch or recording video.

Another new product, Automations, is designed to trigger responses based on live vehicle or driver data. For example, a vehicle fault code could prompt the system to contact a driver and tell them to pull over before a manager spots the issue manually.

Managers can use the tool to tackle excessive idling, hours-of-service risks and fatigue alerts, reducing the need for staff to monitor systems continuously and intervene one case at a time.

Motive also announced new uses for AI Vision, a computer vision tool that converts video into structured operational data. The software can be used in sectors including waste collection, infrastructure monitoring and construction safety, where workers often still record field observations by hand.

In waste services, the tool can identify overfilled containers, contamination in recycling and completed service visits. This could help operators verify work and bill for breaches without requiring drivers to log issues manually.

Adhish Luitel, Research Director at ABI Research, said Motive’s position rests on its combination of hardware, software and proprietary data.

“Motive isn’t just applying AI, it is generating the proprietary data that powers it,” Luitel said.

“By combining hardware, integrated data and proprietary built AI models, Motive moves beyond insight to real-time action in a way many software platforms cannot. The combination of hardware and well-executed AI improves safety and delivers measurable ROI for its customers,” he added.

Workforce tools

Alongside the operational products, Motive expanded its workforce management offering with Driver Rewards, new AI Coach functions and a metric called Coaching Score. The tools are designed to improve driver retention while automating recognition and coaching.

Motive said annual turnover at large fleets can reach 60%, with the loss of a single driver costing about £6,300. For a fleet of 1,000 drivers, that would amount to nearly £4 million a year. It also pointed to a projected UK HGV driver shortage of 200,000 by 2030.

Driver Rewards allows managers to build incentive schemes linked to safety, fuel use, compliance and spending. Drivers can track their progress through leaderboards and challenges in the Motive Driver App, and rewards can be converted into cash through the company’s card product.

Hemant Banavar, Chief Product Officer at Motive, said the aim is to move communication with drivers beyond a narrow focus on mistakes.

“Too often, drivers only hear from their team when something goes wrong,” Banavar said.

“Motive Driver Rewards automatically recognises and reinforces the behaviours that matter most. By turning everyday performance into real-time incentives, we help UK organisations reduce turnover and build stronger performance cultures without adding manual work,” he said.

Rodney Fetters, Fleet Director at SPATCO Energy Solutions, described the product as a replacement for manual reward tracking.

“With Driver Rewards, we’ve replaced manual tracking with automated, data-driven challenges that score and track performance in real time,” Fetters said.

“Recognition is now consistent and scaled. We started with the obvious top performers that drive high mileage and are most at risk, but now we are using the platform to improve engagement, strengthen safety and have reduced the time our team spends managing rewards,” he added.

AI Coach now extends beyond safety feedback to fuel use, compliance and equipment health. Coaching Score, added to Motive’s Performance Hub, is designed to show managers whether coaching is changing behaviour and where further intervention is needed.

Motive said it serves nearly 100,000 customers across transport and logistics, construction, energy, manufacturing, retail, waste services and the public sector.



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Mouse droppings found in Oxford city Chinese restaurant

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Ten Seconds Yunnan Rice Noodle in New Inn Hall Street was inspected by Oxford City Council on May 26.

Inspectors subsequently handed the Chinese restaurant a rating of two out of five, meaning “improvement necessary”.

According to the report, received by the Oxford Mail after a Freedom of Information request submission, officers identified a series of concerns, including evidence of mouse activity.

The report states that mouse droppings were found throughout the business in two food storage rooms and the bar area.

In one of the storage areas, mouse activity was present where noodles were kept in plastic carrier bags and potatoes and onion were left in the open.

“Historic” mouse droppings at Ten Seconds Yunnan Rice Noodle (Image: Oxford City Council)

Inspectors said pest-proofing measures were “not great” and identified a hole beneath a sink in the bar area which could potentially allow pests to enter the premises.

In the report, the inspector said: “At the time of the inspection, I observed a number of historic mouse dropping in both the food storage areas.

“The most recent pest control report mentions no mouse activity in any of the food storage areas.

“All areas where food is prepared and stored must be kept clean and capable of being kept clean. This is so that pests are not attracted into your premises and the risk of food being contaminated by dirt is minimised.”

They advised the owner to remove all historic mouse droppings within the food business and continue to identify any issues of pest proofing within a month.

A hole where pests could have entered underneath the sink (Image: Oxford City Council)

The business was instructed to remove the droppings and improve pest-proofing measures where previous temporary work had failed.

Food storage issues were also highlighted during the inspection.

In an “overfilled” fridge, officers found raw chicken stored above ready-to-eat foods, including uncovered beans and spring onions, which could cause cross-contamination leading to food poisoning.

That same fridge, which stored items such as cooked rice, chicken ballotine and prawns, was above the required eight degrees, raising concern about food poisoning.

A large number of food containers were also unlabelled, despite the food looking fresh.

The officer insisted a “robust system for ensuring adequate stock rotation” was implemented and recommended all food be kept in sealed, pest-proof containers.

An overfilled fridge which was measured above safe temperature (Image: Oxford City Council)

No food-safe sanitiser or disinfectant were available on site, only a kitchen cleaner which they said did not provide adequate disinfection.

Despite the concerns, the report noted there had been a “huge improvement” in cleaning standards since the restaurant’s previous inspection.

The business also had a food safety management system in place and a pest control contract with Pure Pest Solutions.

The council has required a range of improvements, with compliance timescales ranging from one week to one month with a revisit inspection planned.





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Oxford startup secures Innovate UK Women in Innovation Award

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Oxford-based Peripear has secured an Innovate UK Women in Innovation Award and a £74,974 grant for its development of a wearable device designed to prevent perineal trauma during labour.

The funding will support continued product development ahead of the company’s planned first-in-human study.

Nina van Schaick, co-founder and COO of Peripear as well as a midwife who trained at Oxford Brookes, said: “I’m sure I wasn’t the only one to see this gap.

“I was incredibly lucky to meet my co-founder, Eviatar Natan, right as my frustration about the lack of translation of evidence into practice had peaked.

“There was a proven mechanism that could reduce injuries occurring in up to 90 per cent of vaginal births, and it was being left out of clinical pathways simply because no standardised tool existed to deliver it.”

Peripear is developing what it describes as the world’s first automated perineal thermotherapy wearable, designed to prevent perineal trauma during childbirth.

A perineal thermotherapy wearable is an emerging medical device.

It is a hands‑free warm compress device used on the perineum during the second stage of labour to reduce severe tearing and episiotomies while improving maternal comfort.

Ms van Schaick added: “I’m a farmer’s granddaughter, and when I started practising over 14 years ago, I asked: where is the tool I need to implement this evidence? I looked around and realised we were still asking clinicians to improvise.

“Peripear is what happens when the person who has lived the problem, both personally and professionally, meets the person who can help her build the solution.”





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UK bike manufacturer on brink of £30m collapse after 139 years

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The company behind bikemaker Raleigh, which was founded 139 years ago and has supplied bikes to the UK’s cycling city of Oxford over the years, has filed to appoint administrators.

Accell UK and Ireland, part of Netherlands-based Accell Group, filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators as the wider group kickstarted insolvency proceedings.

This follows a difficult spell for Nottinghamshire-based Raleigh, which confirmed job cuts in 2024 before reporting a £30m loss in financial accounts published the following year.

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The boss of Accell said it was a “deeply sad and frustrating situation” and that it had “tirelessly explored” every option for the future of the cycling business.

The company bought Raleigh in 2012 for around 100 million US dollars (£74 million), adding to its roster of bike brands throughout Europe including Haibike, Winora and Ghost.

Raleigh was founded in Nottingham in 1887 and was well-known for its Chopper model, which featured extended handlebars and is now part of its “retro” range.

It no longer manufactures bikes from Nottingham, and its head office has moved to Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, while the company has shifted to selling electric bikes under Accell’s ownership.

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Accell went through a restructuring in February, securing additional funding from shareholders and lenders and reducing debts.

The group said it had since “explored every possible avenue” for its future, including discussions with potential buyers, but that it had not been possible to find a solution which means the business can continue operating.

It has therefore initiated insolvency proceedings in the Netherlands.

Accell’s chief executive Jonas Nilsson said: “This is a deeply sad and frustrating situation given all the hard work and everything we have achieved, with the support of shareholders and lenders, to restructure Accell’s operations and finances.

“It is an especially difficult moment for our employees, creditors, customers, suppliers, and partners.

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“Every realistic option for the future of the business has been tirelessly explored, and none have resulted in a solution to continue the Group in its current form.

“Our immediate focus is to support an orderly process, provide clarity wherever possible, and work with the relevant court-appointed administrators to preserve viable activities and employment where circumstances allow.”

At its 1970s height, Raleigh employed more than 13,000 people across the UK, with around 8,000 working at its various Triumph Road sites in Nottingham.

The former factory land later became the University of Nottingham’s Jubilee Campus.

Raleigh subsequently moved its headquarters to Church Street in Eastwood, before leaving that site and relocating to Durban House in 2024.





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