Pune-based firm granted US patent for tech to identify fuel theft in vehicles

Pune-based digital solutions provider Intangles Lab, has been granted a patent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for “Systems and Methods of Sub-Resolution Measurements in Fuel Tanks." The machine learning algorithm developed by the Indian firm can identify fuel theft in vehicles using the existing array of sensors equipped by the OEM. The fuel pilferage monitoring system pinpoints the exact quantity of fuel that’s gone into the fuel tank as well as where the fuel was refilled.

Intangles’ fuel pilferage monitoring system is currently available only for commercial vehicles and aims to bring more transparency between truck drivers, fuel stations and fleet operators. The firm says that its technology is detecting fuel theft of over 200,000 litres on a monthly basis and is preventing up to a million litres of fuel theft every quarter. This, in turn, will help lower the cost of operation for fleet operators.

Speaking to HT Auto, Aman Singh, co-founder and Head of Analytics at Intangles, explained, “Large trucks, 40-ton trucks, 50-ton trucks, their fuel economies stand at 2-3 kmpl in the best case. So you can imagine just how much money fleets end up burning in case of fuel pilferage. The second very pertinent problem in India and across the globe is underfilling, where the drivers will fill about 100 litres of fuel against a bill of 200 litres and pocket the difference. When we connect our devices with this patented solution that we've developed, fleet operators get to see the exact fuel refilling, how much did the driver fill, how much did he actually bill for, and the actual fuel economy of the vehicle."

While there are external devices that identify fuel pilferage, they also come with their own sensors that require drilling into the fuel tank. Intangles system has been granted a patent because it does not install any additional sensors in the fuel tank. Instead, the system leverages the OEM-installed fuel level sensor to achieve the same results. It overcomes the challenge of compromised resolution with the OEM sensor through machine learning, which can improve the accuracy of that sensor and deliver the same results as aftermarket sensors. The end result promises to cost “one-third" of an after-market fuel pilferage system.

The firm has currently partnered with Mahindra to provide the fuel pilferage monitoring system integrated into the brand’s new BS6 trucks via the IMAX telematics system. The company is also offering its services to fleet operators with multiple brand commercial vehicles as a one-stop command system to monitor different vehicles. Furthermore, the firm has integrated its technology with oil marketing companies like IOCL and BPCL via APIs to track the amount that was billed to the trucker.

Intangles says that another benefit of its truck is that there’s no damage to the fuel tank through external devices, which can void the warranty. The company is presently working on providing the fuel pilferage system only for commercial vehicles, although the system can be compatible with passenger vehicles as well.