Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/715740
Trucking Topics 32 // COMPANY DRIVER // SEPTEMBER 2016 By James Jaillet ZF concept truck offers a glimpse of trucking's connected, high-tech future T rucking's future is digitized, electrified and connected. That was the message relayed by researchers and executives this June in Aachen, Germany, at a major global press event held by ZF Friedrichshafen AG, a global supplier of axles, transmissions and steering components in both the automotive and trucking sectors. But the Friedrichshafen, Germany-based company did more than just talk about those three trends converging in the world's trucking industry: It pulled the curtain back on a concept tractor-trailer designed from the ground up with those concepts in mind. ZF built the Innovation Truck 2016 to show off next-gen truck technologies it says will be vital to the industry's evolution in the coming two decades. The futuristic combo will be on display at this fall's IAA trucking trade show in Hannover, Germany, to give a worldwide audience a concrete view of the technologies tomorrow's tractor-trailer will employ. Those technologies include not only the Evasive Maneuver Assist (EMA) system ZF announced in June (and showed off in a track demo in Aachen), but also an advanced hybrid drivetrain that runs exclusively on electric power at speeds below 30 mph and a Level 3 autonomous system that lets the truck drive itself on the highway. The Highway Driver Assist automated driving system enables the truck to pilot itself in on-highway use by automatically keeping its lane, steering, accelerating and braking. The Innovation Truck also puts to use an advanced automated backing system that allows drivers to exit the truck in docking situations and remotely back the vehicle to a dock. It also features a crawling mode for start- and-stop traffic made possible by ZF's Traxon automated transmission. The concept truck is a European model — a DAF XF — but the tech it's meant to show off will be used in all markets, ZF says, and quicker than many may think. "Our focus is 2025," says ZF's CEO Sefan Sommer. "We have to rethink the architecture of automobiles to have new concepts and new technologies." Sommer says three major automotive "megatrends" are driving ZF's research and development: safety, efficiency and automated driving. The safety megatrend centers on systems like ZF's EMA — that is, active safety systems meant to avoid crashes altogether — and passive systems that can at least minimize the consequences of accidents when they do occur. The efficiency megatrend deals with driving down fuel consumption and lowering global emissions. Technologies stemming from the trend include alternative fuel development and vehicle electrification.