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Connector Type: Input Connector Description Ingests real-time telematics data from Volvo Trucks APIs into Condense for fleet tracking, monitoring, and analytics. Brief Description The Volvo Trucks Input Connector enables Condense to securely ingest real-time telematics data from Volvo Group Vehicle APIs into Kafka-native topics. Using OAuth 2.0 authentication, the connector automatically retrieves authorized vehicles, polls configured vehicle resources, and publishes normalized events into Condense for downstream stream processing, dashboards, alerts, and analytics. The connector manages authentication, token refresh, VIN discovery, polling schedules, retries, and event publishing, allowing organizations to integrate connected Volvo fleets without developing custom API integrations. Links to Relevant Documents Connector Overview Core Functionality
  • OAuth 2.0 authentication using Client ID and Client Secret.
  • Automatic VIN discovery from authorized Volvo developer accounts.
  • Configurable polling of supported vehicle resources.
  • Individual polling intervals per resource.
  • Automatic JSON normalization into Kafka events.
  • Built-in retry handling and token lifecycle management.
How It Works in Condense
  1. The connector authenticates with Volvo Group using the configured Client ID and Client Secret.
  2. Condense retrieves the list of VINs authorized for the application.
  3. One or more VINs are selected for monitoring.
  4. One or more API resources are configured with polling intervals.
  5. At every polling interval, Condense retrieves the latest vehicle information.
  6. Events are normalized and published to the configured Kafka topic.
Supported Resources Depending on the permissions granted to your Volvo developer application, resources may include:
  • Vehicle Position
  • Vehicle Status
  • Fuel Information
  • Driver Information
  • Vehicle Information
  • Diagnostic Information
Additional resources become available automatically when enabled for your application. Configuration Field-by-Field Explanation

Title

  • Description: Friendly name used to identify the connector.
  • Example: Volvo_East_Fleet

Client ID

  • Description: OAuth Client ID issued by the Volvo Developer Portal.
  • How to Obtain
    1. Sign in to the Volvo Developer Portal.
    2. Create an application.
    3. Copy the generated Client ID.

Client Secret

  • Description: Secret associated with the registered application.
  • Important: The Client Secret is shown only during application creation.

VIN Selection

  • Description: Select one or more authorized vehicle VINs.
  • Behavior: Condense automatically retrieves VINs available to the authenticated application.
  • Prerequisite: VINs must be approved and mapped to your developer account by Volvo.

Resource Configuration

For every selected resource configure:
  • Resource Name
  • Polling Frequency
Example:

Output Topic

  • Description: Kafka topic where Volvo telematics events are published.
  • Examples
    • volvo.position
    • volvo.status
    • fleet.telematics
Sample Configuration Example
Example Event
Setting Up Volvo API Access

Step 1 — Create a Volvo Developer Account

  1. Visit the Volvo Developer Portal.
  2. Register your organization.
  3. Create an application.
  4. Obtain the Client ID and Client Secret.

Step 2 — Request VIN Authorization

Volvo does not automatically grant access to vehicle data. To access vehicle APIs:
  1. Collect the VINs to be monitored.
  2. Obtain vehicle owner consent.
  3. Submit a VIN mapping request through Volvo Developer Support.
Once approved, the VINs become available through the Vehicles API and can be selected inside Condense. Troubleshooting and Common Issues

Authentication Failed

Possible Causes
  • Invalid Client ID.
  • Invalid Client Secret.
Resolution
  • Verify credentials in the Volvo Developer Portal.
  • Regenerate credentials if required.

No VINs Available

Possible Causes
  • VIN mapping has not been approved.
  • Vehicle owner consent is pending.
Resolution
  • Confirm VIN authorization with Volvo Developer Support.

No Events Published

Possible Causes
  • Incorrect output topic.
  • Polling interval configured incorrectly.
Resolution
  • Verify the Kafka topic exists.
  • Check connector logs.

API Rate Limits

Possible Causes
  • Too many vehicles or resources polled simultaneously.
Resolution
  • Increase polling intervals.
  • Split large fleets across multiple connectors.
Advanced Considerations

Token Management

OAuth access tokens are automatically refreshed by Condense. No manual token management is required.

Resource-Level Polling

Each resource can use an independent polling frequency to balance freshness and API usage.

Large Fleet Deployments

For fleets containing hundreds or thousands of vehicles, distribute VINs across multiple connectors to improve scalability and remain within Volvo API quotas.

Event Normalization

Regardless of the original API response, events are normalized into a consistent JSON structure before publishing to Kafka. Best Practices
  1. Create separate Kafka topics for different resource types.
  2. Use descriptive connector names based on fleet or geography.
  3. Configure polling intervals according to business requirements while respecting Volvo API rate limits.
  4. Periodically rotate Client Secrets and revoke unused applications.
  5. Monitor connector health, API usage, and ingestion throughput using Condense observability.