Volvo Group Connected Solutions

A fundamental part of being human is making decisions. I bet everyone, consciously or not, carries at least one memory of a time when they wished they could magically and instantaneously optimize the outcome of a complex or technical decision. A moment when you wished you could send a probe into your brain to effectively traverse all possible options — like in the movie Limitless with Bradley Cooper, where a mysterious drug unlocks his full cognitive potential, turning his brain into a high-speed decision engine. Wouldn’t it be comforting to know your decision maximized your chances of the best possible outcome, especially when facing the consequences of an undesirable result? Even in failure, one could say, at least I did my best. Read the blog post here

At Volvo Group Connected Solutions we manage a diverse portfolio of mobile apps from performance-critical apps like Volvo Connect (real-time fuel efficiency and vehicle diagnostics) to business-enabling apps such as the Truck Charging app, designed to simplify the charging experience for electric trucks.

Our journey to scale mobile app development naturally led us to explore cross-platform solutions. The promise was appealing: a shared codebase, faster time to market, and a consistent user experience across platforms. Read the blog post here

A year ago, Volvo Group’s internal developer portal, Volvo Backstage was running, but hardly buzzing. Engagement was low, mainly used during Hack Days, Volvo’s annual global tech event held across seven cities across the world, open to anyone in the Volvo Group tech community. At the time, Backstage had around 100 weekly active users and only a handful of teams truly recognized its potential. Today, Backstage is thriving across the company with more than 1,000 weekly active users and a 25× increase in monthly page views, from 400 to over 11,000. Read the blog post here

Welcome to the electrified transportation revolution — where refueling isn’t just different, it’s an entirely new game with rules being written in real-time. Read more here

We’ve established that commercial EV charging is super complex and intricate because of the energy loads, the inflexibility to handle downtimes, the cost involved in the infra, the space needed for the assets and in the downtimes. So, there are mission-critical vehicles, expensive charging infrastructure, tight operational schedules, and potentially millions in revenue on the line. What we need now isn’t just charging; we need an intelligent system that orchestrates this entire, ahem, potential insane chaos. Read the blog post here

Backbone of the biggest transportation revolution since horses made way for engines

So, Commercial EV Charging’! Future generations may well be baffled by our primitive fossil fuel refilling rituals. “Wait, you actually pumped flammable liquid into your vehicles? And the pump didn’t even have internet?”

Welcome to the electrified transportation revolution — where refueling isn’t just different, it’s an entirely new game with rules being written in real-time. Read more here.

Over the past few years, TypeScript has grown from a niche tool into a cornerstone of modern web development. In this series, we’ll explore its impact on React development and how it can elevate your codebase. TypeScript brings powerful advantages like type safety, improved refactoring, and intelligent tooling — all of which contribute to a smoother, more reliable development experience. Read the full article here

For many people, technical documentation is the first point of contact with software, an API, or a complex system. They are often the only guide a user will ever consult. However, these documents frequently carry implicit expectations of prior knowledge, familiarity with domain jargon, or a certain level of technical fluency. Primarily, this approach arises from pressure to deliver compact, efficient content tailored to seasoned professionals who simply want the facts post-haste. Read the full article here

Not too long ago, we humans were bashing together rocks to make fire, in the world of today we are bashing together the very building blocks of the universe with quantum computers to solve unique problems, along with teaching machines made of metal to be intelligent and more human-like. Many of these fields might seem like magic to some. One of these fields, that always seemed like magic, at least to me, was the field of connectivity. Read full article here

Can ArchUnit be a safeComplex software projects tend to grow increasingly chaotic over time. We are not living in a perfect world where relations between the entities that compose its logic and/or facilitate communication with the outside world are consistent. While looking into understanding hexagonal architecture as a candidate for one of our newer components for my team, I realized that the rules within it can be expressed as simple constraints. I started to investigate tools to provide that functionality. This is what I found and how we use it in the team. ty net for complex projects? Read the full article here

Finally, it seems that everyone has caught up and AI is everywhere. Or, at the very least, everyone is talking about it. AI technology, although not that recent, has reached large scale commercial viability and is now evolving rapidly. Every week new AI based tools pop up and everyone is locked into this increasingly challenging game of catch up. Well, I have identified some areas where AI assistance will be of particular help in software development. Read the full article here.

Generative AI, exemplified by tools like ChatGPT, has revolutionized content creation, offering unprecedented capabilities in art, writing, and more. Yet, this AI revolution brings cybersecurity concerns, particularly in handling sensitive information. Developers must navigate ethical use, ensuring confidentiality and compliance with company directives. As governments worldwide seek to regulate AI’s ethical use, companies must be cautious, using open services for inspiration and approved third-party services for sensitive tasks. Read the full article here

As a Data Scientiest at Volvo Group Connected Solutions, I leverage telematics data to address the Catch 22 dilemma in electric truck charging infrastructure. By analyzing data from fleet management systems, we identify patterns in truck behavior, such as daily mileage and stop durations, to predict the feasibility of electrification for different truck types. This analysis informs the strategic placement of charging stations, ensuring that electric trucks can operate efficiently and without range anxiety. Our goal is to create a robust, publicly available charging network that supports the transition to emission-free vehicles. Read the full article here.

Kingbolt emerged as a solution to a need for a unified design direction across digital products. It now stands as the official design system for several digital services, providing a cohesive framework for UI design and development. The system caters to both developers and designers, facilitating seamless collaboration and efficient workflows. This article is about how we created this design system. Read the full article here.

Strategic foresight is essential for anticipating and shaping the future, especially with AI’s rapid advancement. As a Senior Foresight Manager at Volvo Group Connected Solutions Innovation Lab, I apply this approach to understand trends and plan for uncertainties. AI, a significant trend, is transforming operations and decision-making processes. Multinational corporations use strategic foresight to stay ahead, adapting to AI’s dynamic changes. The debate on AI’s ethical development is crucial, yet lacks public engagement, risking societal pushback and missed opportunities. Strategic foresight is our compass in the AI-driven transformation, ensuring we thrive in the future. Read the full article here

Kingbolt, our inhouse design system and official design system for Customer Connect, ensures consistent and user-friendly digital products. It serves as a single source of truth for UI design and development, supporting multiple brands with unique colors, typography, and icons. This is a deep dive in how we achieved coherent design across multiple building blocks. Read the full article here.

The automotive industry is undergoing a significant shift towards electric vehicles, presenting challenges such as finding available charging stations for heavy-duty electric trucks amidst busy delivery schedules. To address this, Volvo Group Connected Solutions’ Innovation Lab launched a pilot project in 2019, which evolved into a charging service integrated into the Volvo Connect platform by October 2023. Read the full article here