Heavy Duty Trucking, February 2018
HDT FEBRUARY 2018 70 WWW TRUCKINGINFO COM n the beginning there was the lowly brake sensor A simple metal bar that gradually became exposed as brake pads wore away and emitted a high pitched squeal when it was time to replace them Antilock brake sensors followed suit designed to alert drivers when problems arose Eventually tire sensors began to transmit air pressure and temperature data to drivers and later on to fleet managers Wheel end sensors today are already important given the fast evolution and adoption of active vehicle safety systems says Fred Andersky director of customer solutions and controls for Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems Data and diagnostic trouble codes from wheel speed sensors are an integral part of active safety technologies like full stability and collision mitigation he explains And today this information can be sent telematically enabling shops to be prepared to fix issues and reduce truck downtime This technology sets the stage to integrate and dramatically expand the information sensors will be sending to fleets says Joe Wolf manager of global advanced engineering group for Maxion Wheels Wolf and his team of engineers have been working on a new combination of connected active wheel sensors which he says show great promise in relaying a host of vital operating information to fleets We spent the last half of 2017 developing a number of wheel mounted sensors data processors and transmitters that can process vehicle operating parameters he says And because this system is integrated into the trucks or trailers CAN bus it is fully integrated Telematics where the rubber meets the road A new generation of wheel sensors may soon be transmitting surprising new types of operational information to fleet managers Sensors in tires and other wheel end components are ready to move beyond optimizing tire management programs in some very surprising ways into that vehicles telematics architecture and can be transmitted via telematics along with other data to fleet managers Beyond the dashboard light Wolf says the information Maxion engineers are collecting with their sensor system is potentially groundbreaking Our sensors can monitor operational conditions such as hub or tire temperature as well as tire pressure he explains But we are also using them to monitor individual wheel loads We can tell if a vehicle is loaded or unloaded Moreover we can tell how a vehicle is loaded what the actual weight distribution of the cargo is Additionally we can detect any sudden shifts in the distribution of cargo and weight on the vehicle as well as monitor the type of surface the truck By Jack Roberts Senior Editor jroberts@ truckinginfo com TIRES WHEELS I PHOTO MAXION
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