Come and see these high-tech trucks that are no longer just big

When it comes to technology in the automotive field, most manufacturers and users focus on civilian sedans and SUVs. In fact, there are also many technologies worth introducing for commercial vehicles such as trucks used in industry and transportation.

For trucks, the most important thing is safety and convenience. In addition, advanced technologies such as driverless driving have also begun to be tested in the truck field. Therefore, let's take a look at the technologies and new applications in the truck field that are ignored by ordinary consumers and are worth paying attention to.

Freightliner Inspiration Self-Driving Truck

In addition to the self-driving cars being developed by major automakers and technology companies, Daimler is currently developing trucks equipped with self-driving technology, which means that drivers will have enough rest time during driving. Daimler also hopes that the introduction of self-driving technology will eventually help reduce traffic accidents caused by driver fatigue.

At present, this Daimler truck model Freightliner Inspiration has officially passed the road approval of the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles, becoming the world's first self-driving truck. Freightliner Inspiration is designed and manufactured based on Daimler's 18-wheel truck, but it has undergone a number of high-tech modifications and finally has the ability to drive automatically. It is also worth mentioning that this truck can not only drive by itself, but also is a very careful "driver". For example, when encountering a situation that cannot be solved by the system, Freightliner Inspiration will make a beep to wake up the driver to take over, and if the driver does not respond, the system will slowly slow down and eventually stop.

To ensure driving safety, the Freightliner Inspiration is equipped with body cameras and short-range/long-range radars, which can recognize road signs and avoid obstacles at a distance of up to 240 meters. Although the Freightliner Inspiration is still in the testing phase, Daimler believes that the two trucks are safe enough, and the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles also believes that the Freightliner Inspiration meets the conditions for road use.

Samsung Safety Truck Prototype

Friends who often drive know that it is necessary to stay away from large trucks and lorries as much as possible, especially when overtaking. Trucks block most of the view and make it very dangerous for the overtaking vehicles behind. When you want to overtake a large truck, you can't know if there are other vehicles in front before you start to overtake. Especially on a one-way road, the probability of a traffic accident will be higher.

To this end, in order to reduce the number of traffic accidents involving large trucks, Samsung recently modified its own logistics trucks into "Samsung Safety Trucks". The front suspension of this light truck is equipped with a camera to record road conditions. Four TV screens are embedded in the two doors of the cargo box to broadcast real-time road conditions ahead. In addition, these cameras have night vision mode to help drivers behind see the road conditions ahead clearly in the dark.

However, it should be noted that this safety system, which is unlikely to increase profits for truck drivers, is actually not cheap. Although the cost of wireless cameras has dropped a lot now, it is obvious that a wide-angle screen wall with excellent anti-glare capabilities is a considerable investment, which is also an important limiting factor that makes the system difficult to popularize on a large scale.

Remote controlled smart truck

Driving a huge truck in a limited space or venue is actually a very difficult task. So if the trucks could be moved more freely like playing games or remote control racing, wouldn’t it be more convenient?

Recently, German ZF company brought us the most cutting-edge ZF intelligent truck mobility system. The system is equipped with the new ZF-Servotwin electric hydraulic power steering system, which is an important part of semi-automatic and automated driving steering control. The staff held a tablet computer with an Android system that everyone is familiar with, and controlled a DAF tractor trailer to perform actions such as reversing. You only need to move the vehicle on the tablet touch screen with your fingers, and this long DAF tractor can automatically move at a slow speed.

The realization of this function is due to the new ZF-Servotwin electro-hydraulic power steering system, while the new TraXon gearbox and powerful electronic control system also contribute. The invention of this technology is not just for the sake of showing off technology and attracting attention. With this technology, truck drivers can stand in a relatively safe place to remotely control the truck when driving on dangerous roads, such as cliffs and muddy roads, greatly increasing the safety factor.

Land Rover Transparent Trailer Technology

Recently, Land Rover has also invested in the research and development of intelligent vehicle technology, expanding its "see-through" technology to a new "transparent trailer" function.

Land Rover's new feature combines the video streams from the car's surround camera system and a digital wireless camera behind the trailer to eliminate blind spots in the rear-view mirror. After the two different sources are merged, the towed vehicle behind the car becomes transparent, allowing the driver to easily see what would otherwise be blocked.

In addition to the transparent trailer, Land Rover also released another system called "Cargo Sense", which can help car owners load cargo evenly by using cameras and a series of pressure sensors inside the trailer. If the cargo moves while the vehicle is moving, the system can also send an immediate alert so that the driver can stop and make adjustments.

ETF All Wheel Steer Truck

The most difficult part for a large vehicle like a truck is turning and U-turning, which not only requires more space, but also often leads to visual blind spots. Not only does it consume a huge amount of energy, but it may also overturn in other road conditions.

Therefore, the German ETF company has come up with another new solution. ETF launched the Mining Trucks MT-240 heavy-duty mining truck, which is equipped with a unique steering system. The huge tires are gone, replaced by a multi-row tire structure, and adopt an all-wheel drive and all-wheel steering design, which will also obtain a smaller turning radius and better adaptability in complex road environments such as mines.

Driverless trucks for road construction

In addition to the Daimler mentioned above, driverless trucks have also been seen in highway construction in Florida, U.S. Unlike before, this time the driverless truck will be truly driverless, and does not require a driver to sit in the cab to supervise.

There are three different ways to achieve fully autonomous operation of a driverless truck: navigation based on GPS, remote control, or pre-programming to achieve true autonomous operation.

The application of unmanned trucks in highway construction this time is mainly based on the following considerations: First, during the construction of the highway, the trucks used for engineering transportation are very easy to be hit, so this time a collision buffer was installed in front of the unmanned truck. Another reason is that the use of unmanned trucks can effectively save labor, and each truck can save two drivers and workers.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.