Remote control of your battery 24/7: the Flash Data Center monitors data and turns it into action

Advanced data analysis for automatic, real-time remote control of all the Flash Battery batteries connected around the world

When we started to take our first steps in the world of lithium batteries, back when we were still a small start-up, with few resources and a small team, we soon had to tackle the challenge of working alongside and supporting customers far away, sometimes overseas. In a rapidly expanding market with a strong focus on exports, this need became increasingly urgent.   

Due to the need to make more knowledgeable and informed decisions, we brought in proprietary technology back in 2013 that allowed us to gather the large amount of data from our batteries located in 54 countries around the world. During every charge and discharge cycle,a log, or a summary of the cycle with the most important information for battery diagnostics is generated.

This led to the creation of the Flash Data Center, our remote control cloud system which uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to analyse the data collected from all Flash Battery systems. The main function of this software is automatic real-time data control: the system monitors and analyses the data received on battery operation 24/7, helping nip potential critical issues and faults in the bud thanks to predictive maintenance and over-the-air updates.

Big Data and Machine Learning for ever smarter batteries

With over 200 million logs collected from our batteries around the world and about 150,000 new logs generated every day, it would not be possible to manually analyse the data collected from every single battery. The amount of data generated every day is simply too large.

In order to be able to handle such a large amount of data, we have to rely on advanced technologies, adopting an orchestrated architecture. The Flash Data Center is actually integrated into a virtual environment with Containerized Architecture, an infrastructure that autonomously adapts to the workload, being able to handle an ever increasing amount of data.

This is where Machine Learning comes into play, a subset of artificial intelligence that creates systems with the ability to learn and improve performance through the data analysed.  Imagine a child who is shown various red objects, by continuing to observe them, the child will gradually become increasingly capable of recognising this colour when they see it around them. Similarly, a computer becomes increasingly intelligent and more precise in its predictions by using algorithms that learn autonomously, feeding itself with a huge amount of data, known as Big Data.

Why wait until it is too late when we can do something ahead of time?

We followed the same process with the Flash Data Center: the large amount of data entered into the system has allowed the algorithm to evolve and, thanks to Machine Learning, the system can send reports on potentially “problematic” batteries in a proactive way.

The large amount of data we can enter into the Flash Data Center ensures that, thanks to Machine Learning, we can extract reliable, precise information on battery behaviour and this allows us to recreate a sort of “digital twin” for all our batteries which simulates the behaviour of batteries that we have yet to make, so we can study hypothetical behaviour for next-generation batteries as well.

Our AI technology collects and analyses data in real time, communicating directly with our After Sales office to send accurate, prompt information on potential faults before they can even happen. Our After Sales team will run in-depth analysis and will assess any actions to take.

So what are the main advantages for OEMs?

1. resolving faults before they even happen, therefore avoiding machine downtime

2. planning ahead and at a lower cost for potential unscheduled maintenance

3. changing the parameters of the battery or the vehicle through FOTA updates (Firmware Over-The-Air) to improve overall performance and the effective lifespan of the entire system

4. checking how the end user actually uses the vehicle on site

5. estimating the effective battery life on the machine

Let’s look at a practical example by analysing an essential parameter: temperature.

With an enormous amount of data available, our technicians cannot examine the values of every single battery. Similarly, it would not be that helpful to indicate an absolute maximum temperature for every battery beforehand. In fact, our batteries are installed on various applications around the world that operate in a wide range of temperatures: from -30°C to +45°C, in countries like Saudi Arabia or Qatar.

You do not need to wait until batteries reach critical temperatures to realise there is a problem! In fact, by constantly monitoring and comparing the values of every battery in use included in the system, the Flash Data Center can recognise faults in advance, allowing us to take prompt action and avoiding costly machine downtime.

All your batteries just a click away: the Flash Data Center portal for intuitive remote control accessible anywhere

The graphical interface of the Flash Data Center was created to guarantee even more intuitive data access, providing the user with an interactive experience that is easy to navigate. All the information you need is centralised on the portal and presented so it is easy to access and view at any moment.

The central part of the portal is the summary dashboard, a real comprehensive overview of all the batteries purchased. This overview includes information such as the number of connected batteries, state of charge, temperature and state of health: it is a general summary of all your systems.

The interactive dashboard lets you easily browse data and access detailed information on every single system. More specifically, you can:

• Display the system telemetry, such as the voltage, energy supplied, SOC, DOD or tracking of the discharge and charging times for every sampling interval, so you can analyse the entire battery life
• Create a graph of the main dimensions of the system so you have an overview of the performance of your batteries over time
• Export data to Excel so you can analyse it offline
• Receive traceability information provided by our advanced integrated supply chain system, such as identification info, the serial numbers of all the cells and other tag data
• Obtain test reports where you can see all the tests carried out before the battery was shipped to the end customer
• Obtain information on the warranty status and on the connectivity of the system with the Flash Data Center portal
• Receive a list of errors, if available, summarising all the faults identified

Evolution that never stops: additional features to promptly meet the needs of industrial machine and electric vehicle manufacturers

We work hard every day to implement new features that make our service increasingly efficient, offering users a wide range of advanced tools for independently running and managing their batteries.

The Flash Data Center continues to evolve so it can meet our customers’ needs in an increasingly precise and prompt way, such as the need to manage a fleet or to obtain data on the telemetry of their battery.

Customisation of battery recognition tags

We have added the option of assigning a customised name to your batteries, so they are easier to recognise. One classic use-case is associating a VIN (vehicle identification number) with the installed battery.

Creation of customised fleets with automatic report generation

Every user can create a fleet on the system, adding detailed information on the geographical location, the name and the contact person for that fleet.  At this point, the system automatically generates a report every day. This feature lets you carry out comparative analysis between different batteries in the same fleet, making it easier to detect potential faults in a specific battery.

An interconnected system that looks to the future

Up until recently, connectivity with the battery used to happen through WiFi for indoor systems or with a router and 4G SIM provided by Flash Battery. Today, thanks to technological developments, we can integrate the battery’s connectivity with the Flash Data Center directly on the vehicle, i.e. through telemetry systems, such as Proemion or Tierra, which are installed directly on the vehicle without having to install an additional router and SIM that would increase operating costs.

We are becoming part of an interconnected ecosystem: an OEM that chooses Flash Battery as the supplier for their batteries will also get a complete telematic solution. This integrated know-how helps us further shorten the distance between us and our customers, so we can meet not only their current needs but also anticipate their future requirements.