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Roadnet Anywhere Update Offers Advanced Fleet Overview Options

Image: Omnitracs

Omnitracs announced the availability of Roadnet Anywhere version 4.5, incorporating advanced vehicle overview features that allow fleet managers to view the status of their entire fleet while also improving workflow on the ground.

The update introduces the Fleet Overview feature that improves a fleet managers ability to track the status and performance of their entire fleet in real time. Fleet Overview provides a better singular management area for vehicles that have a route plan, or do not have a plan at all. Managers can use Fleet Overview to keep their teams on schedule for deliveries.

“Our continuing development of this software brings a new level of innovation to the industry, providing fleet owners, operators and drivers ever-evolving resources to further advance their business,” said David Palle, Omnitracs vice president of product management. “Roadnet Anywhere version 4.5 provides benefits for all levels of a distribution company, and we're thrilled to continue to advance our products and better serve our partners across North America.”

The new update also offers advanced compliance tools that encompass hours of service, DVIR and IFTA, enhancing Omnitracs' Routing, Dispatching and Compliance solutions. Drivers and office personnel can manage their entire day using a single interface.

Roadnet Mobile, the Roadnet Anywhere mobile application, allows users to access all fleet data from a smartphone, tablet, heavy-duty handheld or basic phone. With version 4.5, the updated application allows users to add or remove fields, or create on-demand forms with customized questions. The configurable proof of delivery application allows fleet managers to guide drivers throughout their day by simplifying tasks related to tracking and navigation.

“We understand that every business has a different objective and operates in a unique way,” said Palle. “The high level of configuration offered by Roadnet Anywhere allows fleet owners to cultivate a software platform that best fits their needs ...Read the rest of this story

Robots in the Jungle

A new self-steering system developed by Volvo is being tested in South American sugarcane fields to see if it can reduce crop spoilage and increase yields. Photo: Volvo

These are the days of lasers in the jungle
Lasers in the jungle somewhere
Staccato signals of constant information

- Paul Simon, The Boy In The Bubble

Volvo tends to keep a lot of its autonomous technology development work under wraps. But, if you look around in the unlikeliest of places, you can find evidence of what the Swedish OEM is up to in terms of advanced vehicle tech.

Case in point, the sugarcane fields of Brazil, where Volvo has deployed a new self-steering truck that the company says can become a significant productivity booster for Brazilian sugarcane growers. It's also a good example of how emerging autonomous vehicle technology can be used to solve problems that are sometimes beyond the capabilities of all but the most seasoned truck drivers.

The truck, which is used to transport newly harvested sugar cane, is steered with great precision through the fields in order to avoid damaging the young plants that will form the following year's crop. At present, Volvo said, about 4% of the crop is lost as young plants are run over and the soil is compacted by moving vehicles. This can translate into tens of thousands of U.S. dollars in lost revenue per truck per season. Volvo said its new autonomous steering system is so precise, it will not allow a truck to deviate more than 25 mm laterally off a preset course.

The truck is undergoing field trials in a town called Maringá, an hour's flight west of São Paulo, where the Usina Santa Terezinha Group produces sugar and ethanol from its own sugarcane crops. The truck was developed to examine how automated driving can make ...Read the rest of this story

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