After Smart Phones, TVs And Watches: Are You Ready For The Smart Van?
03/03/2025 14:43 Share
After Smart Phones, TVs And Watches: Are You Ready For The Smart Van?
Uncomplicated, no-nonsense, does what it says on the tin. These are just some of the terms one could associate with the humble van, a vehicle that for decades has been symbolic for sacrificing frills and flair in favour of putting a hardy workhorse philosophy first and foremost.
Times, they are a changing though.
You might have noticed the newest generation of commercial vehicles are becoming increasingly advanced where technology is involved with most now equipped with infotainment screens and Bluetooth connectivity, not to mention an array of advanced safety innovations.
However, the vans of the future could be about to go much further in the interests of forging better business solutions and streamlining the customer experience.
Put another way, you may be very familiar with the smart phone, the smart television, even the smart vacuum cleaner, but are you ready for... the Smart Van?
New Kia PV5 gets Samsung SmarThings Pro integration
If anything, the van industry is well placed for ‘smart’ technological makeover. After all, it’s an industry interwoven into exactly that, industry.
Vans travel nationwide, they transport necessary goods, and they are integral to businesses, many of which might have already undergone their own smart technology overhaul to conduct said business more effectively.
It’s this thinking that has inspired Kia to enter the commercial vehicle space with the all-new, electric Kia PV5.
More than simply trying to get a slice of the lucrative commercial vehicle industry pie for itself, it has designed the Kia PV5 – and all future models to be spun from Kia’s PBV range - to house an advanced platform supplied by Samsung to provide seamless connectivity between vehicles and business environments.
Called SmarThings Pro, it is Samsung’s B2B IoT (Internet of Things) platform, which is available as a ‘Plug & Play’ business model to allow small businesses to quickly and flexibly customise their PBVs to suit their specific needs.
A Van That Can Control Your Business Premises When You’re Not There
If that all sounds a bit heavy on jargon, Kia helpfully provides a couple of specific examples to give you a better idea of what a SmarThings Pro-equipped Kia PV5 could do for you:
“When small bakery owners set a nearby wholesale market as the destination, the pre-programmed business routine will activate an 'Ingredient Purchase Mode,' and the vehicle's internal refrigeration system will be automatically adjusted to ensure the ingredients remain fresh during the trip.
“Once the ingredients are purchased and the store is set as the destination, ‘Commute Mode’ will activate. This allows the owners to prepare the store before arriving by turning on the air-conditioning, signage, and other equipment.
“They can also receive a task list intelligently, such as checking inventory and replacing filters, enabling them to prepare the store for operation without staff.
“After business hours, they can activate a ‘Closing Mode’, which ensures that the store’s devices are powered off, energy-saving measures are applied, and security management is taken care of automatically.
“They will also receive real-time notifications through IVI while driving if unusual activity is detected or if maintenance is required, such as in the case of device malfunctions.
“Further examples of the technology’s functionality include an ‘Unmanned Operation Mode’, which hospitality venues can use to remotely handle check-ins and check-outs, unlock room doors, control devices, and optimise climate control settings.
“Even while driving, owners can monitor the interior and exterior of the rooms through IVI and check guest reservation information to perform remote check-ins and check-outs.
But! Will it switch on the kettle and prepare a brew in time for your arrival? Time will tell...
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