Scania unveils smartwatch

Swedish truck maker launches intelligent 'Black Griffin' watch that syncs with Scania's telemetry system to display a range of relevant travel data on a driver's wrist

Scania says it's getting the jump on other automotive brands by releasing its new 'Black Griffin' watch – a 'smartwatch' that blends fashion with the latest cutting-edge technology to deliver a new realm of benefits to the wearer.

Aimed squarely at Scania truck drivers, the smartwatch integrates wirelessly with the Scania Communicator telemetry package and fleet management system to display fuel consumption, fuel level, driver performance, average speed or any of a variety of other transport metrics, in addition to showing the good ol' fashioned time.

Scania has collaborated with Sony Mobile to produce the watch, which is being produced in limited numbers.

Sony Mobile's Kristian Lövgren, who is in charge of the Scania Black Griffin watch project, says Scania is taking a proactive stance with 'wearables', which fuse fashion with the latest digital technology.

"Most companies are taking small steps to get used to the new technology; they haven’t finger pointed what to do with it," he says.

"Scania, however, has taken a whole new approach. Scania is the first company I have worked with that thinks about the benefits to its customers, the drivers, as opposed to thinking solely about sales.

"What we have done with the watch is find a much better application of 'wearable' technology than we have seen before. It really gives the driver a good view of his daily work. And I really believe that all the benefits that drivers will get from this watch will show that it is exactly the right use for wearable technology."

The head of Scania's Connected Services and Solutions team, Mattias Lundholm, said the watch is just one example of how the Swedish company is at the forefront of the digital revolution.

"We’re sitting on a lot of data and we thought, ‘How can we use this data outside the normal contexts?’," he says.

"We also wanted to test new media, and wearables fit right into this. I don’t think there is any risk at all in launching this watch. I think we would have taken a risk by not launching it, as our competitors may launch similar things and then two or three years down the line we would be left behind."

Scania says it plans to add more features to the watch in due course but don't get your credit card out just yet – Australian truckies will have to wait. Scania's Black Griffin watch is currently only available to European buyers, for the tidy sum of Euro 295 (approximately $A450).

Still, it's inevitable that technology like this will filter down to Australia in years to come, so for a quick snapshot of the future take a look at www.scania.com/watch/, or check out Scania's slick YouTube clip, released on December 12 to coincide with the watch's unveiling…

Scania unveils smartwatch

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