V2V Company Hopes Platooning Will Make Road Trains A Reality
The idea of platooning is not a new one. Trucking companies have long been looking for ways to increase fuel efficiency. Until recently however, it was an extremely dangerous practice. In order to get the benefit of drafting behind another truck, you had to be dangerously close – too close for a driver to be able to react in time to a sudden deceleration, not to mention the issue of not being able to see past the truck in front of you. Now Vehicle To Vehicle (V2V) companies are hoping to use new technology to enable carriers to reap the benefits of platooning in a safe manner.
Peloton Technology, a California-based technology firm, is among those leading the charge. Their new V2V systems make use of cameras and radar to keep the follow truck close but safe. Using wireless technology, the two trucks share information that they gather, allowing the system in the rear truck to “see” what the cameras on the front truck are looking at. This allows both trucks to react to changing road conditions as quickly as possible. In fact, according to Peloton, even if the front truck brakes suddenly, the reaction time for the rear truck to perceive the change and brake accordingly is as fast as a few tenths of a second.
While the system would “augment” the trucker’s driving, he or she would remain in control of the vehicle at all times, never surrendering steering to an automated system.
During a demo for a few large carriers, Peloton used rigs that stayed only 36 feet apart while traveling at 64 mph. At that follow distance, the fuel savings for the rear truck is 10% and the front truck sees a reduction of fuel consumption of 4.5%. According to Peloton, when they test with less separation, those savings only increase.
So how will this affect your average trucker? Platooning systems are already being used by some larger carriers as part of pilot programs, but according to Denny Mooney, Navistar International Corp.’s vice president of Global Product Development, there’s no reason that the technology would have to be limited to large carriers. In fact, Mooney claims that “the trucking industry could develop and agree on common communication protocols so trucks can virtually ‘meet’ on the road and then elect to platoon over a certain distance or route.” This would allow any two (or possibly more in the future) truckers to meet up and form road chain, giving each truck involved a fuel saving of 10% or more.
The idea of platooning is not a new one. Trucking companies have long been looking for ways to increase fuel efficiency. Until recently however, it was an extremely dangerous practice. In order to get the benefit of drafting behind another truck, you had to be dangerously close – too close for a driver to be able to react in time to a sudden deceleration, not to mention the issue of not being able to see past the truck in front of you. Now Vehicle To Vehicle (V2V) companies are hoping to use new technology to enable carriers to reap the benefits of platooning in a safe manner.
Peloton Technology, a California-based technology firm, is among those leading the charge. Their new V2V systems make use of cameras and radar to keep the follow truck close but safe. Using wireless technology, the two trucks share information that they gather, allowing the system in the rear truck to “see” what the cameras on the front truck are looking at. This allows both trucks to react to changing road conditions as quickly as possible. In fact, according to Peloton, even if the front truck brakes suddenly, the reaction time for the rear truck to perceive the change and brake accordingly is as fast as a few tenths of a second.
While the system would “augment” the trucker’s driving, he or she would remain in control of the vehicle at all times, never surrendering steering to an automated system.
During a demo for a few large carriers, Peloton used rigs that stayed only 36 feet apart while traveling at 64 mph. At that follow distance, the fuel savings for the rear truck is 10% and the front truck sees a reduction of fuel consumption of 4.5%. According to Peloton, when they test with less separation, those savings only increase.
So how will this affect your average trucker? Platooning systems are already being used by some larger carriers as part of pilot programs, but according to Denny Mooney, Navistar International Corp.’s vice president of Global Product Development, there’s no reason that the technology would have to be limited to large carriers. In fact, Mooney claims that “the trucking industry could develop and agree on common communication protocols so trucks can virtually ‘meet’ on the road and then elect to platoon over a certain distance or route.” This would allow any two (or possibly more in the future) truckers to meet up and form road chain, giving each truck involved a fuel saving of 10% or more.