advance warning before they reach a
hazard. The warning allows the driver time
to slow down and manoeuvre their vehicle
out of danger, by picking up warnings from
other vehicles, even when out of their
view.
Carl Johan Almqvist, Traffic & Product
Safety director at Volvo Trucks, sees the
technology as a breakthrough. “Cloud-to-
cloud communication is the next big step
in safety. By alerting drivers to hazards
early, the Connected Safety system can
help reduce risks in many life-threatening
situations, such as when a vehicle needs
to stop unexpectedly on a busy road, due
to problems such as a flat tyre, a collision
with a deer, or a traffic pile-up.”
Developed and first tested by Volvo
Cars, the Connected Safety technology
is being implemented by Volvo Trucks
in collaboration between the two
manufacturers. The launch will be followed
by a broader market introduction.
“This is just the beginning,” s ays
Emanuele Piga, director Customer
Solutions & New Services Development
at Volvo Trucks. “As more vehicles have
the technology installed and it becomes
more sophisticated, the technology can
be used to notify drivers of a broad range
of potential hazards.” Just like the three-
point safety belt, the Connected Safety
technology is being made available to
other manufacturers to increase road
safety for all road users. The fact that truck
drivers will now be part of the system is
a big win for everyone, says Almqvist.
“As professional drivers, they are often
more aware of hazards and can help warn
others. That makes the roads safer
for everyone.”
Kim
TRANSPORT
Rodney Selesnick is senior head: Sales and
Marketing at Everstar Industries.
In other cases, analytics are better run
directly in an embedded system.
Mercedes-Benz Trucks’ Actros has a
stop-and-go function that reduces the
risk of rear-end collisions by automatically
bringing the truck to a halt in stop-and-go
traffic, for instance, and — as soon as
things get going — slowly starts it off
again when the vehicle is stationary for
less than two seconds. This increases
safety and ride comfort.
UD Trucks also believes that safe driving
requires the vehicle to be able to predict
potential dangers and immediately alert
the driver. In this light, the Japanese OEM
has developed safety systems based on
advanced technology.
The Traffic Eye brake system has a
dash-mounted camera that functions as
a sub-sensor when detecting stopped
vehicles, while a grill-mounted millimetre-
wave radar functions as the main sensor
when detecting the vehicle ahead.
While driving, if the possibility of
collision with a vehicle ahead is detected,
the driver is quickly notified with a warning
indicator and an alarm. If the vehicle
reaches a distance where collision is
possible, the brakes are applied quickly to
reduce any damage owing to a collision.
Although the Traffic Eye brake system
aids with safe driving, it does not however
guarantee that all collisions will be
avoided. The OEM also makes the proviso
that it might not be possible to use this
system on some roads and the system
can be influenced by weather conditions.
Swedish truck manufacturer Scania
embeds analytics into their emergency
braking systems to meet stringent EU
safety regulations, while providing real-
time crash avoidance to reduce accidents.
Keeping to your lane
Driver fatigue can see trucks slowly
drifting into the wrong lane as tiredness
overcomes the driver. OEMs have come
up with a variety of solutions to this
potential hazard.
With Scania, engineering data from
cameras and radar are processed in
real time for object and road marking
detection, which are subsequently fused
with the emergency braking systems
to signal collision warning alerts and
automatic brake requests.
Mercedes-Benz Trucks offers Lane
Keeping Assist to detect lane markings.
It is always vigilant and can warn the
driver if it recognises that the vehicle is in
danger of leaving its lane unintentionally. If
this happens, a warning sounds over the
radio’s loudspeakers. The camera mounted
behind the windscreen continuously
sends images of the road markings to its
onboard computer, which monitors the
lateral distance between the vehicle and
the road markings, raising the alarm if the
truck drifts inadvertently.
AUGUST 2018
17