At the North American Commercial Vehicle Show, Daimler announced that is is testing connected trucks in platooning operations on public roads in the US.
In truck platooning connectivity and automated driving improve safety within the vehicle convoys, support drivers and enhance efficiency trough closer distances between the connected trucks.
Having started with successful trials on Daimler Trucks North America’s proving ground in Madras, Oregon, DTNA has received the appropriate permission from the regional regulatory body Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT). In a first step called “pairing”, Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) tests its platooning technology in two connected Freightliner New Cascadia truck trailer combinations.
DTNA benefits from proven systems which have successfully been operated by Mercedes-Benz trucks like in the European Truck Platooning Challenge 2016
For the past years Daimler Trucks is pioneering technologies on the fields of automated, connected and electrified driving with its truck brands Mercedes-Benz, Freightliner and FUSO.
Around the globe Daimler Trucks has already connected around 500.000 trucks to the internet of things – more than any other manufacturer. To digitally connect its Freightliner New Cascadias in the current tests in the US Daimler combines connectivity with its experience in automated driving. WiFi-based vehicle-to-vehicle communication (V2V) interacts with Freightliners Detroit Assurance 4.0 driver assistance systems featuring adaptive cruise control, lane departure assist and active brake assist 4.
This technologys offers fuel savings to the customer when two or more Freightliner trucks closely follow each other, lowering aerodynamic drag and adding safety, because V2V reaction times have dropped to about 0.2 or 0.3 seconds – while humans normally can respond not faster than one second.
When it comes to platooning the trucking industry in the US in not only talking about technology, but also – like in Europe – about regulatory issues. As a matter of fact: When the legal framework is set, Daimler Trucks customers will be able to operate their vehicles in platooning mode.