FAQ: Modern truck technology

Unsure of some of the electronic safety and driver aids available in today's trucks? Then read on…

If you've browsed a truck maker's website lately, or spoken with a truck salesperson, you could be forgiven for thinking the world is drowning in a sea of acronyms. ABS, TCS, EBD, ROM – today's truck brings with it a veritable alphabet soup of safety systems and driver aids. And while that in itself is a good thing, for the uninitiated it can be pretty confusing to make sense of what it all means.

In this, the first of many occasional 'FAQ' articles, Trucksales will attempt to make sense of any of a wide range of trucking topics, from truck technology to new model ranges, regulations to terminology. Ideal for anyone who's relatively new to trucking and the road freight industry, there may well be the odd pearl for experienced hands too – whether you're a driver, a dealer, a distributor or an operator…

Do trucks have stability control?

Increasing numbers of trucks have stability control systems, which go under acronyms such as ASC (Automatic Stability Control), ESC (Electronic Stability Control) or ESP (Electronic Stability Program), among others. Stability control essentially sees a series of sensors monitor wheel speed, yaw rate and steering angle, with any impending loss of control detected and countered by either or a combination of cutting engine output and/or braking wheels independently until full control is restored.

These days 'stability control' is usually an umbrella term for a collection of safety systems, such as traction control, rollover mitigation and load adaptive control (which alters the stability settings to suit any given load). Stability control is now fairly common across light and medium-duty trucks, with manufacturers like Hino and Isuzu recently adopting the technology.

While stability control can be found on many heavy-duty trucks, its adaptation to prime movers is problematic given the wide variety of combinations of trucks, trailers and loads available. Trailers fitted with EBS (electronic brake systems) are required at a minimum, but issues can crop up if a mixture of European and American-made trucks are trailers are used, as both regions have developed their own takes on stability control technology.

The US has already moved to make ESC mandatory and the Australian Trucking Association has called for the technology to be made mandatory here.

What is autonomous emergency braking?

Autonomous emergency braking, or AEB, relies on a forward-facing camera and radar to detect any likely impending collision with another vehicle in front of the truck, when that vehicle is either moving or stationary.

In the Bendix Wingman Fusion system available in Mack Truck models, the radar searches in a narrow band for any metallic surfaces up to a range of 190m, while the camera picks up vehicle-shaped profiles in a wider band up to a range of 90m.

Most AEB systems have multiple stages of intervention. First, when the systems registers any likely impending collision, a visual alert is displayed on the dash. If the driver fails to react, a secondary audible alert is sounded, and if this still doesn't spur the driver into action the truck autonomously applies the brakes itself – down to a complete stop, if necessary.

While increasingly common in modern passenger cars, AEB has so far only really penetrated the heavy-duty truck market as far as integrated factory systems go. The European marques in particular have spearheaded the technology's uptake – Scania presently has AEB on all its trucks over 440hp – although the US manufacturers are now following suit.

It's important to note that AEB is often promoted as a mitigating preventative technology – as in it might not always bring the truck to a halt before it hits the stationary vehicle, but it will at least slow it significantly before impact, thereby minimising the resulting damage.

It's likely AEB will increasingly be found throughout the truck world in coming years, as more operators switch on to the technology's life-saving potential, and realise that the cost of installing such technology is far cheaper than the cost of replacing and repairing trucks.

What is adaptive cruise control?

Adaptive cruise control, also known as active cruise control or radar cruise control, is the latest generation of cruise control systems that permits a vehicle to maintain a set distance with the vehicle it's following. Present in the passenger car world for many years now, it's also filtered through to the truck world – most notably in the Euro heavy-duty segment.

Similar to AEB (see above), the technology relies on a radar to constantly measure the distance between the truck and the vehicle in front, the system then using that information to adjust the accelerator to maintain a set distance. Most adaptive cruise control systems allow the driver to choose between a number of pre-set distances, allowing that driver to feel comfortable with the technology at a variety of speeds.

Once the desired speed and distance is set, the truck will maintain that speed until such time as it catches up to a vehicle in front, or another vehicle pulls into the truck's lane in front of it. When either of these instances occur, the truck then automatically decelerates until the set following distance is resumed.

Some adaptive cruise control systems only work above a minimum speed parameter, say 30km/h, while others will work down to a complete stop, the truck then moving off by itself when the vehicle in front moves off. Either way, the ability to use cruise control and not have to worry about constantly adjusting it manually to accommodate other traffic, takes a significant amount of strain out of the driving task.

What is truck telematics?

Telematics, also known as telemetry, is a system that allows a truck to be remotely monitored and records kept of a wide variety of data, the latter including everything from engine revs and fuel economy, through to speed infractions, instances of harsh braking or over-revving, idle time and much more.

Essentially the integration of a truck's various diagnostic tools and engine sensors with GPS, telemetry has long been used in theatres such as motor racing, but it's now widespread throughout the road freight industry. Initially the uptake of telematics was restricted to heavy-duty trucks and operators with large fleets, but it's now penetrating the medium-duty and light-duty spheres through systems like Isuzu Telematics and Hino Traq Telematics.

While drivers may have initially resisted the prospect of around-the-clock monitoring, the efficiencies telematics can unlock can't be ignored. Those efficiencies are diverse, too – telematics can alert operators to drivers who need to modify their driving technique to achieve better fuel efficiency or to drive more smoothly and thereby minimise vehicle wear and tear. Telematics can also alert customers to when a delivery is about to be made, and help an operator to route vehicles to permit the most efficient order of drops and pick-ups.

Whatever way you look at it, truck telematics is here to stay.

What is topographic cruise control?

Common in Europe, topographic cruise control is an advanced cruise control system that utilises topographic map data to maximise fuel efficiency. It's rollout locally is yet to occur because Australia doesn't yet have the detailed topographic map data required by the platform, but when that coverage arrives – not that there's any hard timeline on that at present – it will serve as yet another high-tech platform to pull back those costly fuel bills.

On face value this technology is relatively simple: the vehicle's cruise control system is integrated with topographic map data and GPS satellite navigation. This means the truck knows precisely when to roll off the accelerator before a crest, or when to apply the accelerator before a climb, to ensure progress is made with optimal efficiency.

In Europe makers like Volvo, which calls its topographic system 'I-See', claims it can reduce fuel burn by as much as five per cent, which certainly adds up when the technology is scaled across large fleets over millions of kilometres.

FAQ: Modern truck technology

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