Car detailing and repairing can be a profitable business if managed and operated effectively. According to the Car Detailing Services Market Size and Trend Report by Grandview Research, the global car detailing services market was valued at USD 37.91 billion in 2022, and it is projected to experience a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.5% from 2023 to 2030. Car detailing and repairing service shops are seeing an increase in consumer traffic due to breakthroughs in innovation and increased awareness of vehicle upkeep. Meanwhile, major service providers operating all over the world are developing new strategies to better serve their clientele.
This article presents a case study on how to use a DSGW-040-1 BLE WiFi Gateway to develop a Bluetooth-enabled automobile cleaning and repair shop solution for a famous Chinese brand. By implementing this solution, the brand experienced improvements in operational efficiency and enhanced customer satisfaction. For further details on this successful implementation, please go on reading the specifics.
Challenges Faced by Car Detailing and Repairing Shops
Traditional car detailing and repairing shops are frequently encountered with these three common pain points: the risk of car damage or personnel safety during the repair process, tool loss or misplacement, and potential safety hazards. These challenges may hinder the smooth operation of car detailing and repairing shops and create additional concerns for their owners and staff.
- Vehicles damage or personnel safety during the lifting process: during the car detailing and repairing process, it is necessary for shops to elevate the vehicle to the lifting frame, and there is a potential for collisions between the vehicle and the top of the lifting frame, leading to vehicle damage or pose a safety risk to the personnel who are involved in the lifting process. Addressing the issue is of great significance to ensure the safe operation of the car detailing and repairing shops.
- Tool loss: when repairing or detailing a car, the mechanics usually utilize a variety of tools and it’s common for these tools to become disorganized or scattered. This disarray can make it difficult to locate specific tools when needed, leading to instances where tools are lost or misplaced. This issue not only disrupts the workflow but also results in additional time and effort spent on searching for tools. Effectively managing and organizing tools is essential to minimize tool loss and improve overall efficiency in the shop.
- Possible risks to safety: as the old saying goes: Safety is no accident. Ensuring safety is a top priority for any long-term business plan in this industry. During the repair and detailing services, mechanics often encounter situations where they need to tighten screws. However, if the screws are not tightened with the appropriate torque—either due to insufficient or excessive torque—the screws may slip. This poses a significant danger and can lead to potential safety accidents. This is very dangerous, as failing to manage these safety risks may result in costly consequences for the shop in terms of both financial implications and reputation. Car detailing and repairing shops must take measures to mitigate the risk of accidents and protect the well-being of customers.
How IoT Helps in Solving These Challenges?
An IoT solution integrator whose business specialized in providing digitalized smart store solution, helping stores to increase operational efficiency and assisting in customer growing, chose Dusun IoT to help solve the challenges. As this solution integrator faced difficulty in locate suitable IoT gateway hardware to effectively facilitate their IoT solutions, even if they have introduced a wide range of gadgets such as smart wrenches and smart rangefinders to these car repair and detailing shops.
Dusun IoT collaborated with the IoT solution integrator and assisted in designing an IoT hardware solution that includes overall functionality and enhances the intelligence of original solution. We uses DSGW-040-1 Bluetooth WiFi gateway as a bridge to connect all these smart gadgets to the cloud platform. This allows the application end to keep track of the gadgets’ operational state in real time and take immediate action if needed.
Furthermore, the collected data can be analyzed to provide valuable insights into the operational performance of the car repair and detailing shops. This helps shops to learn more about how well their operations are running, identify previously unnoticed issues, optimize their processes, make informed decisions, and enhance customer satisfaction.
Working Principle of IoT-based Car Detailing and Repairing Solutions
BLE-enabled Distance Meters to Avoid the Collision
To address the issue of potential collisions between vehicles and the top of the lifting frame, a BLE-enabled distance meter is mounted on top of the lifting frame to continuously measure the real-time distance between the car and the roof. And the data is then transmitted to the cloud platform through the Bluetooth gateways.
When the measured distance is closer than a predetermined threshold, the cloud platform will trigger an alert, which is sent to the gateway, and the gateway, acting as a BLE WiFi bridge, transmits the control command to the distance meter. This prompt mechanism ensures that mechanics receive timely notifications, allowing them to take necessary precautions and prevent collisions between the car and the roof.
BLE-enabled Smart Wrenches to Minimize Tool Loss
To solve bothersome tool loss issues, these car detailing and repairing shops brought into smart wrenches connected to the Bluetooth gateway to enable wireless communication. Additionally, Dusun IoT uses Bluetooth RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indication) positioning technology to help mechanics confirm whether the smart wrenches are within range.
What’s more, the location data of the smart wrenches can be transmitted to the cloud platform, allowing owners to easily view and manage the wrenches in a centralized user interface. With the ability to track the location of the smart wrenches, stores can efficiently track their inventory, prevent tool loss, and ensure that the wrenches are readily available when needed.
IoT-enabled Smart Wrenches to Manage the Risks
In addition to the aforementioned features, connecting smart wrenches to the Bluetooth gateway offers another benefit of controllable torque values. The working principle is similar to BLE-enabled distance meters. The smart wrenches continuously transmit their torque values to the cloud platform, which can be accessed through an intuitive user interface
By monitoring these torque values, the shop owner or personnel can establish a threshold and keep a close eye on the readings. If the torque value exceeds the predetermined threshold, an alert can be triggered, reminding the owner or personnel to double-check the potentially slipped screws when the value surpasses the threshold. This proactive approach helps prevent potential accidents and effectively manage safety risks.
Dusun IoT’s Hardware Solution and Service Value
Firmware Custom
Each solution integrator has their own proprietary software and unique requirements, which means the programs and functionalities within the gateway need to align with the solution integrator’s specific needs.
Firmware customization plays an essential role in ensuring compatibility between the IoT gateway and the specific software and cloud platforms. This may include adapting communication protocols, data formats, APIs, etc., in order to makei sure that the gateway integrating with their software and cloud platforms. The final goal is to make the gateway compatible with their software and cloud platforms.
Gadget Integration
Ensuring compatibility between the gateway and the solution integrator’s software is not the only aspect to consider. It is equally important to ensure compatibility and integration between the gateway and the various smart gadgets used in the solution.
Dusun IoT’s FAE engineers and R&D teams have actively engaged in the process of gateway-device integration. Their expertise and efforts are focused on overcoming the challenges associated with integrating multiple devices into the solution.
Indoor Positioning
Bluetooth RSSI positioning is a budget-friendly and user-friendly method for tracking and managing assets in indoor environments. Bluetooth RSSI provides information about the power level of received Bluetooth signals, allowing for proximity estimation and location tracking of smart gadgets.
Dusun IoT has a wide range of Bluetooth beacon gateways for customers to choose. These gateways can receive and process Bluetooth RSSI signals, enabling efficient indoor positioning and asset management. By leveraging Bluetooth RSSI positioning, car detailing and repairing shops can implement centralized monitoring and management of tools.
Easy Scalability
As the industry evolves and new technologies emerge, car detailing and repairing shops may have specific requirements for additional smart gadgets to enhance their operations further. Dusun IoT enables shops to expand their IoT ecosystem and incorporate additional smart gadgets as required, by designing a future-proof solution, safeguarding the investment made by the shops.
About DSGW-040-1 Bluetooth WiFi Gateway
DSGW-040-1 is a Bluetooth WiFi gateway combining router functionalities. It is powered by MediaTek’s MT7620 CPU, with built-in WiFi 2.4GHz capability. Meanwhile, it also equipped with 4G LTE CAT1, LTE CAT M1 and Ethernet network options, providing flexibility in connecting various devices to the network, and can serve as a multi-in-one network router.
Meanwhile, it supports Bluetooth 5.2 protocol, which means it can connect and manage BLE devices, collect data and send them to the cloud platforms for remote monitoring and control functions.
DSGW-040-1 also features one LAN and one WAN network port with a 10 / 100 Mbps data speed, as well as a version equipped with a 4,100 mAh Lithium backup battery to ensure uninterrupted operation even in the event of power outages. As a professional-grade IoT gateway devices, DSGW-040-1 finds applications in various sectors, including home automation, remote health monitoring, and smart retail stores.
Final Words
Dusun IoT’s Bluetooth gateway devices have indeed made significant contributions to the field of smart retail store management, enabling more refined, standardized, and intelligent solutions for store operations.
In addressing challenges in vehicle maintenance, tool management, and safety risk management in traditional auto detailing and repairing service shops, their integration with tools and devices, such as smart wrenches and distance meters, has streamlined operations, improved efficiency, and minimized tool loss. Furthermore, by leveraging the capabilities of the Bluetooth gateway device, shops can embrace intelligent upgrades to meet the evolving needs and enhance their service quality.
In the future of intelligence, Dusun IoT will continue to provide IoT hardware solutions to more solution providers to help traditional stores achieve smart management.
