Commercial truck technology experts disputed the notion that connected, autonomous vehicles are still many years away from everyday reality.<\/p>\n
Connected trucks in platoon operation could be on U.S. roadways within three years, according to experts on Fleet Owner\u2019s<\/em> The Connected Truck panel at the Mid-America Trucking Show.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we will see platooning in the 2018-2019 timeframe,\u201d said Fred Andersky, director, customer solutions-controls, for Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems. \u201cBut, it will be in really [specialized] applications.\u201d<\/p>\n Wallace Lau, senior industry analyst-commercial vehicle research for Frost & Sullivan, agreed that Andersky\u2019s timeframe was reasonable.<\/p>\n \u201cIt still comes down to operations,\u201d he said. \u201cI think as it matures and fleets see the benefits, it will gain, but I think it will start slow.\u201d<\/p>\n The panel covered a range of topics related to connectivity, including vehicle maintenance opportunities through the ability to project when a component may fail and replace it beforehand. \u201c[Prognostics] is the next step we\u2019re moving into – fixing items before they even break,\u201d Lau said.<\/p>\n Thayne Boren, general manager of Truckstop.com, had a different take on how connected technologies and the connected truck can improve operations. \u201cI see tremendous opportunity in parking. I see opportunity in fuel and where to fuel up, and the chance to optimize [repairs and the scheduling of repairs],\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Lau suggested that rather than turn off drivers, a connected truck could appeal to a new generation of works that otherwise might not have considered the industry.<\/p>\n \u201cThe future truck is a connected truck, but it could be used to attract younger drivers by [letting] them connect with families,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Boren sees connected technologies also increasing driver satisfaction.\u00a0\u201cThere\u2019s an opportunity to look at your driver retention and not just who is not performing, but who you should be rewarding,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n What the industry has achieved so far in truck connectivity, is just the \u201ctip of the iceberg,\u201d explained Lau.<\/p>\n \u201cThat market is worth $3.5 billion today,\u201d he said. But with only 46.1% of fleets using connected technologies (27% of which run Class 4 and up vehicles), there is still great growth opportunity, Lau noted.<\/p>\n The larger the fleet, he said, the more likely they are to use some form of connected technologies, including items such as advanced safety systems. Among small fleets, only 4.1% use such technologies, with that number growing to 32.2% of medium sized fleets and 55.4% of large fleets.<\/p>\n Among the areas that are in the tip right now are vehicle, driver and fuel management. But, he said other areas could be tapped with increased use of current and developing connected vehicle technologies. These areas include order management, driver behavior and training, prognostic and repair management, and warranty optimization. Going even deeper into the iceberg, areas include advanced driver assistance system integration, automated driving\/platooning, usage based insurance and transport management.<\/p>\n Lau said that a great opportunity exists in the \u201cmobile based brokering\u201d model, i.e. the uberization of freight. With 30% of all miles traveled by U.S. trucking companies still empty miles, the amount of wasted fuel, productivity and asset utilization remains high. All this, he says, can lead to increased driver fatigue from unnecessary miles and increased congestion that results in lower productivity.<\/p>\n