Panel: Trailers Next Frontier in Telematics
“The trailer is very much increasing in importance.” says Wabco’s Jon Morrison. Photo: Deborah Lockridge
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“The trailer is very much increasing in importance.” says Wabco’s Jon Morrison. Photo: Deborah Lockridge
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ATLANTA, GA – The power of telematics continues to advance, and there are still plenty of opportunities to be realized – especially when it comes to the rolling assets seen in a rearview mirror.
It’s why Utility Trailer’s Intelligent Trailer Symposium, held during the North American Commercial Vehicle Show, gathered a panel of high-profile executives to explore the promises and challenges of collecting, sharing, and using trailer-related data.
“We do spend a lot of time talking about trucks,” said Jon Morrison, Wabco’s president – Americas. “The trailer is very much increasing in importance.”
The interest in data clearly involves more than filling spreadsheets and completing reports. Wabco has a boat tail that deploys and retracts at specific speeds based on data from existing antilock braking systems. Retreading programs can track the condition of individual tires equipped with RFID tags. Reefer settings can be monitored and changed remotely. Those are just a few examples.
“The demand for data is increasing everywhere,” said Berend Bracht, president and CEO of Bendix.
While the traditional focus has been on collecting the data because of an exception or unusual situation, like a fault code or collision, the possibilities that can be realized by analyzing “big data” will require a continuous stream of bits and bytes.
More data can be a good thing, but it presents new challenges to address. Will information collected about a trailer, for example, come from wired or wireless sensors? How will it ultimately be packaged and transmitted to drivers and operation teams? “There’s a lot of data, but who gets that data?” Bracht asked, referring to one fundamental question.
“One of the biggest issues that still exists for fleets is light outage(s),” explained Dominic Grote, president and CEO of Grote Industries. Drivers need to …Read the rest of this story
