Truck Topics

How the Head Knows What the Tail’s Doing: A Look at Multiplexing

There has been a seemingly endless stream of advances in trucking over the last couple decades, across just about every aspect of the industry.  Whether the advance has to do with the quality of trailer you’re pulling, the computers in the truck itself, the communications technology that’s now available, or the way you log your loads, to name a few, you’re working more efficiently now than ever.  Multiplexing presents a potential solution that combines all these elements into packages, which is intended to make you more efficient than you might have imagined possible.  

The most impressive thing about multiplexing isn’t necessarily what they’re currently capable of (and that, in itself, is pretty dang impressive), it’s what their potential holds in the near future.  But we’ll get to that.  

Current multiplex systems refer primarily to the wiring systems existent in trucks.  It’s a fairly simple concept; multiplex systems allow for multiple signals and/or messages on the same circuit.  These systems currently primarily assist in diagnosing potential repair and maintenance issues with a truck and/or trailer; it’s been said that the flexibility and information a multiplex system offers allows for much, much quicker diagnostic time frame--I’ve seen quotes to as much as 80% savings with respect to diagnostic time.  

These wiring systems are sent through a central computer that processes the signals, making diagnostics easier than they ever have been.  In a multiplex system, you can monitor just about every aspect of your truck with the help of sophisticated sensors, including lights, the weight you’re hauling, whether your doors are open, rear and side object detection, air brake pressure and height, and numerous other parameters.  

The ability to know these things with immediacy from your dashboard is helpful not only because they’re things you need to know, but also because they could potentially assist you in avoiding an equipment-related accident.  This fact alone could save you a lot of time and money--and with CSA 2010 creeping ever closer, having the advantage of a communication system between your back end and front end could prove to be a big, big help.  

Of course, I’ve only touched the tip of the iceberg with the above, and that’s the stuff that’s just around the corner and/or new.  What about the coming years and combining the technology that we’re just now getting our hands on?  There’s no shortage of possibilities.  

Can you imagine not needing to weigh a load?  The potential is there for trucks and trailers that weigh your load for you.  Too, there’s potential for the ability of the truck to submit your weight information to the proper authorities when necessary.  Of course, there’s quite a number of trucks in the expediting world that don’t need to weigh their loads, and I don’t know what kind of infrastructure is in place to handle that kind of technology, but it doesn’t seem that it’d be that difficult to put it into place.  

Can you imagine an automated, no-human-interaction system that reports an accident, no matter how major or minor, to all related parties of a load and also contacts the required authorities?  It’d be as easy as a wireless connection and the right infrastructure.  Of course, this technology exists in all sorts of automobiles already, via services like OnStar, for example.  

Can you imagine not having to submit logs at all?  With the assistance of a little GPS and some wifi and/or 3g (or 4g), there’s potential to have your truck submit logs for you, with little to no human interruption.  Of course, in this particular case, I can see potential for all varieties of privacy and/or security issues, so those are holes that would need filling as such developments are being made (provided they are being developed).  

Of course, all of this is potential, and there’s a lot more out there that could be made of these kinds of ideas.  As we hurtle through time and the advancements it has to offer in the realm of business technology, it’s a distinct possibility that we’ll be driving not only trucks, but rather moving information systems.  To be sure, we are doing that to some degree now, with the advent of GPS devices and subscription services, like I noted above.  But the possibilities that exist are, or at least could prove to be, jaw-droppingly awesome.  I, for one, get excited about the development and application of technology like this into particular industries, and it looks like things might be heading that way.  

In the end, there’s a distinct possibility that, with the management systems available and/or in the development and ideation stages, being a trucker could potentially be all driving and few to none of the headaches that go along with expediting.  Does this excite you?  Does it scare you?  Let us know--we’d love to hear from you.