"ML Electronics played a key role in the success of our product, our relationship with them continues to be strong and we would recommend them to anyone wanting to develop a commercially sound product"

Ben Parker, Managing Director, didBOX Ltd

The Brief

didBOX is a driver identification and access control system aimed primarily at limiting unauthorised use of fleet vehicles. It offers its customers many benefits including enabling access to vehicles to be limited to approved drivers only, records and measures equipment usage, by operator, date and time, integrates easily with simple spreadsheets and has low set-up and running costs.

The product stems from a need first identified by a leading airline which had many operational vehicles being used and parked up all over Heathrow Airport. They were looking for a way to keep track of and control the use of their vehicles and identified a huge expensive problem with lack of control of their forklift truck drivers. They needed a way of preventing the abuse of their vehicles and expensive damage.

Why MLE were called in

The didBOX team approached MLE because they knew we were able to develop the complex electronics required to support the didBOX - while it is very simple to use, the didBOX is quite complex in functionality.

The didBOX incorporates embedded intelligence to monitor and date/time stamp each vehicle event as well as an optimised power management system.

didBOX had an idea of what they wanted to achieve. However, when we sat down with them and explored their requirements we were able to suggest additional features and functions that the product could perform, resulting in an even better product.

The didBOX's design had to cater for a number of specification requirements including the need for minimally-intrusive installation and wiring, a simple user interface, software that could interface between the device and a PC running Window's applications. The didBOX was developed to control the use of vehicles, and essentially it acts as a gatekeeper between the vehicle's engine and its driver, therefore its design had to be extremely reliable, as if it were to malfunction, this would render the vehicle unusable.

Why the didBOX is so special to MLE

The team here at MLE loves this product, as it is such a simple concept that can have a great commercial impact for its users. Businesses interpreting the data that the didBOX can capture are able to greatly improve their fleet usage efficiencies and reduce their repair & servicing costs.

Users are able to simply download vehicle usage information from the vehicle using a key similar to the key that operates the vehicle (and didBOX). This information is then transferred to a PC using a simple i-wand device that plugs into the PC. The data is then transported into any windows programme, such as Excel, for interpretation. MLE developed all of the software that made this possible as well as the electronics that sit within both the didBOX itself and the PC-wand.

didBOX in Production

We now produce regular batches of didBOX's and i-wands for the client on an ongoing basis and production techniques include pick ‘n' place.

The didBOX undergoes rigorous testing and production processes to assure its reliability in the field. Each unit is heat-cycled over several hours to eliminate moisture before the unit is environmentally sealed.

The end result

We have a thoroughly delighted client with whom we work very closely. We are now exploring future developments for the didBOX with our client and look forward to enjoying a very successful ongoing relationship with them.

For more information about didBOX visit www.didbox.com