I recently had the opportunity to witness over a long period of time what happens when people pull together and share the information they have. While it was not in the context of the trucking industry, the results I saw from a team of people who had the customer's best interest in mind were pretty amazing.
I think the trucking industry could learn some lessons from what I saw:
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...Read the rest of this storyLAS VEGAS. J. J. Keller & Associates and Vigillo announced at the American Trucking Associations Annual Management Conference & Exhibition a partnership to provide a new Prescriptive Analytics Solution that identifies unsafe behavior in drivers and assigns appropriate training.
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...Read the rest of this storyWith a strum of string guitars, the 2016 American Trucking Associations (ATA) annual Management Conference & Exhibition (MC&E) opened its doors in Las Vegas, NV. A variety of truck manufacturers and industry suppliers also held press events during the first few days of the conference to discuss a variety of new products, from new tractors and engines to electronic logging devices (ELDs) and other information technology (IT) systems. (All photos by Sean Kilcarr/Fleet Owner)
...Read the rest of this storyBosch's VisionX project details what trucks and the driver's job may look like in a decade. Photo: Bosch
">Bosch's VisionX project details what trucks and the driver's job may look like in a decade. Photo: Bosch
">Job description for the truck driver of the future: perform key freight forwarding tasks, including checking transport status via cloud, responding to e-mails, organizing routes, and adjusting them to take on additional cargo. Ideal candidate: a team player with good multitasking capabilities – confidence in using new media a must!
That's Bosch's vision of the driver's job in the not-too-distant future as shown off at the IAA Commercial Motor Vehicles show in Hannover, Germany, recently.
"The truckers of the future will go from being drivers to serving as logistics managers,” says Dr. Markus Heyn, member of the board of management of Robert Bosch GmbH. The commercial vehicles of 2026, Bosch said, will be automated, connected, and electrified.
Bosch showed off the “VisionX” concept study it's using to demonstrate what commercial vehicles will be capable of in just a few years.
Fully connected and in some cases offering automated driving, they will run on highly efficient diesel or even electricity as the situation demands.
“The truck of the future will be a 40-ton smart device on wheels,” said Heyn. Smart connectivity and automation will enable it to navigate traffic on the freeway itself, mostly without driver intervention. This will give drivers time to take care of other tasks, such as planning routes, processing shipping documents, or simply taking a break.
Visitors to the Bosch booth at IAA got a chance to sit behind the wheel and watch a highly realistic animated feature that allowed them to experience the future of truck driving firsthand.
The Bosch booth also featured a bevy of real-world technologies that are available now, including:
• New display and user interfaces. Bosch is putting large displays and touchscreens in trucks to make connectivity and infotainment functions easy to use.
ATA president Chris Spear fielding reporters' queries on autonomous policymaking. Photo: Evan Lockridge
">ATA president Chris Spear fielding reporters' queries on autonomous policymaking. Photo: Evan Lockridge
">LAS VEGAS. Because autonomous driving technologies offer “a lot of potential but also a lot of unknowns,” Chris Spear, president of the American Trucking Associations, said trucking must “take our seat at the table with other industries [primarily the automotive sector] to develop a [policy] framework without stymying innovation.
“The technology is here and will grow rapidly,” Spear told members of the industry press during a brief Q&A on Oct. 2 here on the show floor of ATA's Management Conference & Exposition. “Suppliers are already creating connected and automated technology.”
He said trucking is “a different animal than the car side” so the association is aiming to ensure the industry's voice is heard as federal policymaking develops.
Suggesting there is urgency to this issue, Spear lamented that the first federal guidelines for the testing and deployment of autonomous vehicles recently released by the Department of Transportation were put together with almost no input from the trucking industry.
On the other hand, he said that “[technological developments] are not going to wait for the federal government. He also pointed out that autonomous policymaking will move on two tracks.
“States are not waiting for the federal government, either.” He pointed to Nevada, which has enacted legislation and regulations to enable the testing and operation of autonomous vehicles, as an example. “Nevada is innovating; creating a breeding ground for this technology.
“As far as [putting in place] seamless regulation, that has to be done by the federal government,” Spear continued. “But we will also get engaged at the state level to avoid a patchwork of laws [for autonomous trucks.]”
Spear said connected and autonomous vehicles hold the promise of increasing highway safety, reducing fuel consumption and emissions, and by alleviating congestion, boosting trucking productivity, which in turn ...Read the rest of this story
