Heavy Duty Trucking, May 2019

ify the driving experience from a fuel economy perspective Thats because one of Hyliions selling points for its technology is enhanced fuel economy But the best technology in the world cant overcome a driver who doesnt know or care how to make the best use of it Which is why the company is investing so much time and money in getting the interface between the driver the truck and the technology right We want to set up a system where we can reward drivers day in and day out regardless of what truck they are in for good fuel economy performance The only way we can make that a reality over a long periods of time is with a smart interface between the truck and driver Facing the future Facial recognition will be a crucial interface component in trucks of the future as well says Roman Tsarovsky chief technology officer at Serve a company developing this technology for trucking Initially he explains facial recognition technology for trucks was developed to meet needs in the pharmaceutical industry which will have to meet tough government regulations beginning next year to ensure that prescription drug shipments are being picked up and delivered to the people who are supposed to be shipping and receiving the goods But Tsarovsky says one need only look at the booming last mile delivery segment and the evolution of blockchain to understand why facial recognition inside a truck cab will be critical for fleets in the future As the pressure grows to know where a truck is what the status of a delivery is to place and take orders and get paid in a transparent and fast moving environment simply knowing who a driver is and who a receiver is will be a huge advantage he says Its a simple technology feature that will streamline operations while greatly enhancing security And even in the future trucking will be a business that thrives with human interaction And facial recognition technology enables all of those capabilities As for voice commands inside the truck Healy says that technology is also simply a matter of time Some drivers love the idea he says And others dont want anyone talking to them while theyre in the truck So we think this capability will be up to the driver But the possibilities are endless he says For instance you can tell the truck youre going to stop in the next hour so the APU can start storing up hotel load power levels I think it will be transformative Hagen loves the potential a smart connected voice activated truck cab could give him Just imagine asking out loud how far to the next truckstop and getting an answer he says And then imagine just asking if there are any parking spaces available for the night and if there are telling your truck to go ahead and reserve you one That would be incredible I cant even begin to tell you how awesome that would be All of this is coming and we need to have standards in place to help drivers be safe when it does says Fred Andersky director of customer solutions and government affairs for Bendix Today we dont even have standardization in terms of icons and switch and gauge placement in our trucks because were still in the stage where these new technologies are competitive selling points Smart interfaces will go a long way toward enhancing safety But standardization across all makes and models will be critical for making that a reality DRIVER CAB INTERFACE HDT MAY 2019 72 WWW TRUCKINGINFO COM I would love to have a tablet display screen and a personalized truck cab like that says Jamie Hagen the owner and chief driver of Hellbent Xpress a small fleet running out of North Dakota Hagen is a Mack fanatic who has a promotional deal with the OEM Hes an admitted technology guy who uses social media to talk about his experiences from truckings technology frontier There would be a huge value to having a vehicle that configures itself the way you want when you climb up into the cab Hagen says It would be a big quality of work and life improvement for the slip seat guys driving for fleets And for an information guy like me in my own truck Id be in heaven with all the information at my fingertips presented the way I wanted it As far as Hagen is concerned information is the future of trucking Every aspect of it comes down to information he says From where a load is and when the receiver can expect it to the way my gauges are configured And I want to customize that data I want to know how much weight is on each axle what my engine temperatures and pressures are and what my exhaust system regen possibilities are We have thousands of sensors on these trucks today capturing data But were still not doing a good job getting that data out to the people who need it in the ways they want to receive it I think smart driver vehicle interfaces will be a huge step forward in making those things happen And Hagen isnt alone in his assessment Hyliion is making a name for itself as a developer of smart mild hybrid drive systems for Class 8 tractors But early on says Thomas Healy the companys founder and CEO he and his engineers realized that a modern system of relaying information to the driver about how a truck is performing and why is an essential component for optimal efficiency and performance from both the man and the machine Hyliion engineers are deeply involved in the development of personalized display systems that use a Bluetooth app to sync a drivers preferences to a vehicle As soon as a smartphone goes into a vehicle its computer knows who that driver is and what their preferences are Healy explains And once the driver is in place we can use that app to help coach him or her while we gam Engineers at Hyliion whose mild hybrid assist system display is seen here are also involved in the development of personalized display systems that use a Bluetooth app to sync a drivers preferences to a vehicle PHOTO JACK ROBERTS