NextBillion.ai Monthly Product Bytes — September 2023

In September 2023, we rolled out a series of transformative product updates.

The Asynchronous Distance Matrix API was introduced, empowering users to calculate distances and estimated times of arrival (ETAs) for a very large scale of origins and destinations sets.

In addition, we added dynamic speed and idle alerts to Live Tracking API V1 and advanced time and speed features in Route Optimization API V2.

Let’s explore what’s new from last month.

New Products

Maximize scalability with Asynchronous Distance Matrix API

With our recently launched Asynchronous Distance Matrix API, you are no longer confined by size limitations for flexible parameters.  It computes distances and ETAs between a massive set of origins and destinations — for both one-to-many or many-to-many scenarios. The API returns results for each origin and destination pair asynchronously in a two-step process, offering greater efficiency and accessibility.

You can:

• Handle large sets of origins and destinations effectively.
• Retrieve results at your convenience, asynchronously.
• Factor in departure time-based traffic and route preferences (shortest or fastest) for speed or efficiency.
• Generate ETAs and distances for different driving modes.
• Get precise ETAs and distances for valid truck routes tailored to your truck’s dimensions.
• Avoid objects like tolls, highways and ferry routes as per your constraints. 

Business benefits:

• Efficiently manage large origin and destination sets to scale up operations and reduce processing time.
• Increase workflow flexibility, productivity and accessibility by retrieving results at your convenience with asynchronous processing.
• Ensure on-time deliveries and enhance customer satisfaction with accurate ETAs and route options tailored to your business needs.
• Save time and costs by accounting for traffic considerations in optimized routes.
• Optimize resource allocation and reduce expenses by customizing routes to avoid unnecessary elements like tolls.

Get in touch with NextBillion.ai to explore the Asynchronous Distance Matrix API’s capabilities.

New Product Features

Unlock safety and boost efficiency with dynamic speed and idle alerts in Live Tracking V1

Our Live Tracking API now comes with new speeding and idle alerts to optimize asset monitoring.

You can:

• Speeding Alerts: Receive immediate notifications when a linked asset, be it a vehicle, user or driver, exceeds a predefined speed limit, promoting safe driving practices and preventing potential accidents.
• Idle Alerts: Be alerted when a linked asset exhibits idle activity, helping you monitor assets more effectively and improve operational efficiency.

Business benefits:

• With the ‘speeding’ alert, you can ensure that your assets are operated within safe speed limits, reducing the risk of accidents and wear and tear. This not only improves safety but also extends the lifespan of your assets.
• The ‘idle’ alert enables you to identify assets that are not in use when they should be, allowing you to reassign or schedule them more effectively, ultimately boosting productivity.
• By leveraging the ‘ speeding ‘ alert, ensure your business complies with safety regulations and speed limits. This can prevent costly fines and legal troubles.

You can read all about these updates in NextBillion.ai’s Live Tracking API documentation. 

Enhance job scheduling and route planning with Route Optimization API V2’s latest feature

Route Optimization API V2 has been further developed to include the new ‘speed factor’ feature. With the introduction of this parameter, companies can now achieve precision, efficiency and cost-effectiveness in job scheduling and route planning.

You can:

• Dynamically adjust the estimated travel time for their vehicles. By scaling the travel time up or down, businesses can adapt routes to match driving conditions and speeds.
• This feature is invaluable for optimizing time-sensitive deliveries and minimizing operational costs.

Business benefits:

• The speed factor can impact task time windows, allowing vehicles to reach task locations earlier or later based on adjusted travel times. 
• This flexibility ensures better coordination with customer schedules and operational requirements.

Explore the technical details of this new feature in NextBillion.ai Route Optimization API V2 documentation.

Interactive Notebook: Employee Transportation Solution

We released a new technical notebook designed to provide an employee transportation solution with the help of NextBillion.ai’s products, including Route Optimization API, Distance Matrix API and Web Maps SDK.

Based on the challenges faced by transport operators, employees and companies, NextBillion.ai identified and addressed key requirements:

• Minimize Time Spent in the Minivan: Employees expressed a desire to spend as little time as possible commuting to work. This technical notebook explores innovative strategies to streamline routes, reduce commute times, and enhance overall efficiency.
• Minimize Waiting Time: They do not want to wait for the minivan for extended periods. NextBillion.ai’s solution tackles this issue head-on, aiming to minimize waiting times and ensure timely pickups for employees.
• Avoid Excessive Early Arrival: Employees prefer to arrive just in time for their shifts without excessive early arrivals. The solution seeks to strike the perfect balance, ensuring employees don’t arrive too early for their shifts. 

In The Pipeline

Our next big release — the NextBillion.ai Asset Tracking Android SDK — will be out soon.

You will be able to unleash the power of real-time location tracking in your Android applications with the ability to seamlessly upload data to either our backend or your custom database.

Stay tuned for the October 2023 product launches, feature updates and technical resources, all geared toward enhancing your business operations.