The guided onboarding process is a graphical interface where the user (in this case the driver) can trigger the onboarding of their vehicle onto the re.alto platform by following a link and then entering their own vehicle data, as opposed to our client having to set this up for each individual user/vehicle first. Our guided onboarding feature enables users to onboard their device themselves through a web-based UI created by re.alto. This allows re.alto to interact directly with those users, greatly minimising the integration effort for our client. 

For a regular onboarding session, the client would need to know each user’s VIN number (the vehicle’s unique identification number) and car brand to create a classic onboarding request. This can delay the onboarding process for the client as they would need to collect the user-specific VIN numbers and car brands before each onboarding session could begin. The benefit of a guided onboarding session, in comparison, is that the session can be instigated without prior knowledge of the vehicle brand or VIN number. The guided onboarding session simply creates a guided onboarding URL with a unique code. Clicking on the URL begins the onboarding journey by directing the user to re.alto’s web UI screens for guiding users in onboarding their car, where they can then fill in the required information about their vehicle themselves and consent to sharing their data. The VIN/brand combination is verified by re.alto and the connection is confirmed. The integration effort and admin work is minimised for the client, as each individual user can complete the onboarding process for their own vehicle. The session can be started without the client needing to provide each individual VIN number and car manufacturer upfront. Since implementing this feature, it has become faster and easier for people using our platform to onboard cars. While a client/admin would previously have had to collect each user’s vehicle-specific information before being able to begin this process, the process is now automated for them in the guided onboarding session. 

To explain the feature more clearly, here is an example: Client 1 makes a website or application for their users (in this example, their employees) to interact with. The functionality behind this website/app calls re.alto’s APIs (which we use to collect data from a vehicle, such as the state of charge and location for our client). In the classic onboarding version, however, the re.alto platform could not be called for the onboarding prior to the client inputting both the VIN number and car brand of the user. Hence, the client would first need to collect this information from each of their users through their own application before being able to trigger the onboarding sessions through re.alto. Instead of creating an onboarding request in this way, the client can now simply create a guided onboarding session which can be accessed via a unique URL containing a secure access code. The client can share this URL with their users directly or redirect them to it from their own application. The client can easily create multiple onboarding requests and send these to multiple users at the same time. Users are then redirected to UIs of re.alto where they are informed that the client’s company wants to connect to their vehicle. They can then input their own vehicle data, give their consent and trigger the onboarding flow themselves, saving the client time and ensuring a smoother, more professional journey for the user. The first screen focuses on consent, the second requests the vehicle information and the final one is the verification and confirmation stage. 

Guided onboarding simplifies the onboarding journey and integration for our clients by enabling re.alto to interact directly with the client’s users. Whereas the previous system on the platform required the client or admin to know each individual user’s VIN and car brand upfront, a guided onboarding session makes it possible to begin the onboarding process before inputting any of this information. In addition, the user must now confirm that they give their consent to sharing their vehicle data, something that was not clearly captured in the classic onboarding process, leaving the prior consent capturing to the client. This added consent tracking and management ensures a securer and more professional process for all. 

Guided onboarding is currently only available for electric vehicles, but additional types of devices will be added in future. More information on guided onboarding can be found in the re.alto readme or by contacting us. 

re.alto has been testing the official APIs from Mercedes-Benz and Tesla and our development team is satisfied with the response from both so far. The new APIs enable near real-time monitoring with a reading every five minutes and offer access to interesting data. This connectivity provides a lot of potential and opportunities when it comes to smart charging and smarter energy management – no smart charge pole is required and using an official or native API means the data obtained is reliable.

Back in November, we published an article on the new EU Data Act, highlighting that the new regulations ultimately mean that OEMS/manufacturers in the European Union must make the data of their appliances available to the user for free in a machine-readable format (ie: an application programming interface to extract or share data). Manufacturers therefore need to build interfaces to give consumers (or companies) the opportunity to download or read this data. Some OEMs are ahead of the game, with car manufacturers Mercedes-Benz and Tesla offering access and already making a remote control function available over their official APIs.

A remote connection to the electric vehicle is also important for charging-related use cases. Most people want the comfort to charge their EV at home, yet an EV adds a significant peak load to the household installation. Load balancing, optimised solar consumption, dynamic rate charging: most of these features require the installation of a smart charge pole. A smart charge pole easily mounts to 1000€ above a regular one. That is where remote charging can be a game changer. Remote charging can help these consumers save money while increasing comfort in use cases such as smart charging or obtaining data from the car to help their employer reimburse their transport expenses. 

The APIs will also allow us to control EV charging to a certain degree with the aim to be able to stop and start charging the vehicle on command. This opens the potential to optimally schedule the charging of the EV, so that the consumer is only consuming energy at the time when it is most cost-efficient to do so. Our developers tested this function and saw that, in most cases, the vehicle responds to the command to stop or start charging in less than a minute. This is certainly impressive and will enable interesting new use cases as a result, especially for those with a dynamic energy tariff and those harnessing solar power – however, we will delve into these use cases in more detail soon.

We expect it to be a major game changer that car manufacturers are now enabling this remote control function via an official API, and with the EU Data Act demanding that users be given access to data, it won’t be long until more OEMs follow suit and make data available via official channels.