Wheelguards intelligent screws
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Managed Connectivity Solution from A1 Digital secures necessary data transmission even in low-infrastructure regions.
Why Wheelguard chose A1 Digital
Stable connectivity
Continuous and stable connectivity must be guaranteed at all times for the real-time transmission of data.
SIM withstands heat, cold or shock
SIM cards are also characterized by their ability to withstand heat, cold or shock.
SIMplify management platform
The SIM card is managed, activated and deactivated via the SIMplify management platform.
”We are happy to have found a competent and committed partner in the field of connectivity and IoT in A1 Digital who was able to offer us a top connectivity solution. With the help of A1 Digital, wheel and rim thieves will have a hard time in the future.”
About Wheelguard
Wheelguard is a start-up from Wildeshausen near Bremen that has developed the world's first intelligent and smart fastener and applied for a patent. First and foremost, the innovative fastener is primarily intended for use in the automotive sector (wheel screws/wheel nuts). The “intelligent screw” is also able to monitor many other screw fastenings e.g. in wind turbines, doors of garden sheds, horse boxes, house facades or outboard motors on boats.
The idea for the intelligent screw came from company founder Jörg Blin due to a personal experience during a motorway journey when all the wheel bolts on the left front wheel of his car came loose. The Wheelguard founder is not alone in this experience. Time and again, wheels come loose while driving because workshops are sloppy, customers do not have them tightened or saboteurs deliberately loosen wheel nuts on rescue and police vehicles. In addition, around 300,000 wheel sets are stolen from private cars or dealer premises every year in Germany alone.
Intelligent Screws
Together with his friend Felix Rennies, an engineer from Berlin, Jörg Blin therefore developed a creative solution to the problem - a kit consisting of tyre-specific intelligent wheel nuts, an OBD2 dongle and a mobile phone app. A sensor inside the screw detects when it becomes loose and passes a corresponding message in real time via Bluetooth to an OBD2 gateway in the vehicle, which forwards the information to a cloud-based IoT backend. From here, the driver is warned which wheel nuts have become loose via the app on their mobile phone or on the vehicle's infotainment system. Registration, login and vehicle registration are carried out via Wheelguard's website in the self-developed IoT backend. Compatibility with existing fleet management systems also makes it possible to centrally monitor pool vehicles of a car rental company, a haulage company or a car sharing provider.
Data transmission even in low-infrastructure regions
Since continuous and stable connectivity must be guaranteed at all times for the real-time transmission of data, Jörg Blin opted for the managed connectivity solution of A1 Digital International GmbH. The proven multi-network SIM cards are an essential part of the internationally applicable IoT solution. Since there is a risk of disconnection due to lack of network coverage when using only one mobile phone provider, especially when driving in regions with poor infrastructure, the SIM cards installed in the OBD2 dongle dial into the respective available mobile network. In addition to being used in 140 countries worldwide, the SIM cards are also characterised by their ability to withstand heat, cold or shock. The SIM card is managed, activated and deactivated via the SIMplify management platform.