Volvo Embraces the Future with the Latest 18-Wheeler Technology
How and when freight is delivered is changing and so are the vehicles that transport truckloads of goods. Old and new are coming together, and the Class 8 trucks of the future will combine automation, connectivity and electromobility while also becoming more integrated.
Susan Alt, senior vice president of public affairs for Volvo Trucks, shared those insights with attendees at 2019 during her keynote address.
“The truck is more often talking to the trailer. The tractor-trailer is talking to a dispatcher, so we know where the freight is and if it is safely there. That tractor-trailer may be talking to the truck behind it or the infrastructure,” Alt said. “A lot of things are connected.”
Alt told attendees she is especially excited about the safety benefits connectivity can provide, such as a vehicle communicating with infrastructure. “There are so many accidents when the drivers can’t see or there is a change in lanes,” she said. “Can you imagine if a cone can talk to a truck?”
Improving the Driving Experience
While driverless vehicles often make headlines, Alt said Volvo is focusing on the human driver and is working on ways to improve the driving experience. “In the near term we will relax not replace the truck driver,” she said.
Alt told attendees that 95 percent of trucks built today have automated transmissions so driving them is just like driving a car. Volvo has also developed automated technology, such as emergency braking, backing assistance, adaptive cruise control, camera monitoring system, collision avoidance alerts and lane departure warnings. Automated systems that make operating a vehicle easier can be particularly useful as drivers age.
“Truck drivers are getting older. The general population is getting older,” Alt said, explaining that in 2015, the median truck driver age was 52, in 2020 that will increase to 57 and in 2030 it will increase to 67.
In 2018, there was a truck driver shortage of at least 60,000 drivers, and that figure could triple by 2026, Alt said.
Preparing for the Future
Full automation is coming, according to Alt. “The technology is here,” she said. “We could have a truck drive by itself, and there are certain applications that make sense for it today.”
Those applications include ports, mining, refuge and military use. However, for widespread use, Alt said it will take time for public acceptance and further testing. Alt expects to see more use of platooning, which allows vehicles to communicate with each other so they can follow more closely.
Greater use of electric trucks is also coming, Alt said, particularly in medium-duty applications. “We’re learning a lot very quickly,” she said, adding that questions remain about when and how vehicles will get charged.
During the keynote address, Alt shared a video of Vera, Volvo’s first all- electric driverless freight truck. Vera combines the automation, connectivity and electromobility Alt discussed in her presentation and operates with significantly less exhaust emissions and low noise levels. It is controlled and monitored via a control center, and it has the potential to make transportation safer, cleaner and more efficient, Volvo said.
“All of these things are coming,” Alt said. “They’re coming faster than we think.”
Susan Alt, senior vice president of public affairs for Volvo Trucks, shared these insights with attendees during 黑料社区Connect 2019. 黑料社区Connect 2020, which will be held Feb. 6 – 9 in Denver, Colorado, will bring more insight on the key trends disrupting truckstops and travel plazas. Visits for more information.
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