Geotab’s partnership with Swinburne University of Technology is designed to give researchers and students access to real-world transport data, while helping identify the next generation of fleet and mobility solutions.
Founder and CEO Neil Cawse said the collaboration was distinct from Geotab’s other university relationships because it brings together government, industry, academia and technology in a more integrated way.
“I don’t think we’ve done it quite the same way anywhere else in the world,” Cawse said.
“It’s the first one where I really feel like what’s been brought together is government, industry and Geotab in a way that I haven’t seen done before. The collaboration has been fantastic.”
Geotab has existing links with universities including Queen’s University and McMaster University in Canada, along with Georgia Tech in the United States. However, Cawse said the Swinburne partnership provides a stronger platform for collaboration around Australian transport and logistics challenges.
A central part of the arrangement is making Geotab’s extensive fleet and connected-vehicle data available for academic research in a safe and controlled way.
“We have access to some of the most interesting data, and it would be terrible to have that locked up,” Cawse said. “One of the things is making sure that we can safely make that data available to students to go do studies and do analysis.
“I think that’s an important part of giving back that Geotab has to do. It’s good for us, it’s good for the university, and it’s good for humanity.”
The partnership is not limited to analysing current fleet problems. Cawse said it is also intended to support research into the future of transportation, including challenges that may emerge three to five years from now.
“It’s not just about what our customers need tomorrow, but imagining what the future of transportation looks like three to five years down the road,” he said.
“It’s taking a bunch of students that don’t know that they can’t solve the problem, throwing them at the problem, and then seeing what great ideas they come up with.”
Cawse said this approach combines fresh thinking from students with Geotab’s practical experience working with fleets, technology and transport operations around the world.
“It’s an investment in the future. It’s also an investment in the kids coming through university,” he said.
The research may begin with Australian issues, but Cawse expects many findings to have relevance internationally. He said fleet, logistics and transport challenges are often shared across markets, even where local operating conditions differ.
“It’s easy to think that the problems that we have are unique to us,” Cawse said.
“These problems that we’re talking about for Australia are happening the world over. They’re not happening in exactly the same pattern, but the benefit comes from learning from what’s happening in the rest of the world.”
Ports are one example. Cawse said telematics and connected-asset data could help improve the way ports and logistics operations are managed, with lessons shared between Australian operators and Geotab-connected ports globally.
“There are many, many ports around the world that are using Geotab,” he said. “Let’s bring the ports from around the world together with the ports in Australia, and let’s figure out together what works, what doesn’t work, and learn from each other.”
At the same time, Australia has some transport issues that make local research particularly valuable. Cawse pointed to the ageing truck-driver workforce and the need for more drivers as examples of challenges that may require locally relevant solutions.
The partnership also reflects Geotab’s broader development model, where technology is shaped through collaboration with customers rather than designed in isolation.
“You can’t sit in your ivory tower as a technology company and imagine what people need,” Cawse said. “The only way you really know is by working very, very closely with fleets.”
Geotab’s approach is to work with fleets on problems that can be solved and then apply the resulting capability more broadly across its platform.
“Customers tell us your problem, we’ll explain to you what the technology can do, and then [we put] a project together that’s a combined effort to solve something,” Cawse said.
“The premise is that we’re not going to charge you to do it, but we’re going to take that technology and build it into the product and make it available for all customers.”
For Cawse, the Swinburne collaboration extends that model beyond immediate fleet needs. Customer partnerships help Geotab improve what fleets need now, while university research helps explore the next horizon of connected transport.
“It’s really the collaboration with universities that are more the horizon two and three,” he said. “That is the stuff that’s further down the road.”
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