Truck tech on show at CES 2019

The Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show (CES) has become a showcase for automotive electronics in recent years – commercial vehicle electronics included.

At the CES 2019 (January 8-11) PACCAR is exhibiting three zero-emission vehicles: a battery-electric Peterbilt Model 579EV; a battery-electric Peterbilt Model 220EV and a hydrogen fuel cell electric Kenworth T680, the latter developed in collaboration with Toyota.

These trucks were designed for a range of customer applications, including over-the-road goods transportation, port operations and urban distribution.

In addition, visitors to the booth are learning about other innovative PACCAR technologies that increase customers' operational efficiency, including next-generation driver assistance systems, truck platooning and in-cab human-machine interfaces.

Kenworth, Peterbilt and DAF are field-testing battery-electric, hydrogen fuel cell and hybrid powertrain vehicles with customers in North America and Europe.

"PACCAR is excited about the opportunity to create the next generation of powertrains that are environmentally friendly and enhance our customers' operations," said Landon Sproull, PACCAR vice president.

Zero-emission Kenworth T680 Class 8 semi trucks, powered by twin Toyota hydrogen fuel cell electric powertrains, have more torque than diesel engines, while making almost no noise and emitting only water vapour.

Testing on these trucks has already covered more than 16,000 kilometres, hauling cargo from the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach to rail yards and warehouses in the Los Angeles area. Ten more of these zero-emission trucks are scheduled for production to expand this test fleet.

Twenty-six companies across the automotive and technology industry have formed a coalition that was announced at CES 2019.

Dubbed 'PAVE' (Partners for Automotive Vehicle Education), this coalition was created to educate the public and policymakers on the facts regarding automated vehicles, so that they can fully participate in shaping the future of roads and highways.

PAVE wants people in government and private citizens to have factual knowledge of what autonomous technology can and cannot do.

The coalition includes automakers Daimler, General Motors, Toyota and Volkswagen, but also includes the US National Safety Council and technology companies, including Cruise Automation, Intel, Mobileye and NVIDIA.

Also on show in Las Vegas, the Valeo XtraVue Trailer employs strategically placed cameras on the towing vehicle and the trailer that cause a trailer to appear 'invisible' in the rear-view screen of the vehicle towing it.

The combination camera images are 'mixed' to produce a single homogeneous image on a display in front of the driver, allowing the driver to see what's happening behind the trailer.

The system can display while the vehicle is moving forward, as well as when reversing and manoeuvering.

The CES demonstration unit used a separate screen on the vehicle dashboard, but an obvious development is integration with the standard vehicle information display screen.

According to Valeo, driving and manoeuvering a trailer should be, "easier than ever, whatever the size of the trailer being pulled", with drivers able to change lanes, reverse and park, while "having full view of their environment".