Thinking trucks to be tested in competition
Fuel is responsible for 30% of trucking costs - a considerable expense for transport companies. Every time a truck brakes unnecessarily the driver is forced to accelerate in order to compensate. This increases fuel consumption. The greater the energy use, the bigger the environmental impact. There is also the risk that a driver may not notice the vehicle in front braking in time if they are close behind. KTH and Scania are going to change all that. Their truck will now be tested in a competition.
"If the driver knows that there are 30 seconds before a red light will turn green he does not need to stop, only to slow down. This saves fuel, there will be a better traffic flow and all this is better for the environment," explains Assad Alam who is an industrial doctoral student at Scania.
He is part of the Scoop Project in which KTH and Scania are jointly developing a wireless network system that allows trucks to communicate with each other in real time. This project is a multi-departmental cooperation effort at KTH. Assad's role is to review and develop fuel efficiency.
"The best case scenario is that the driver will have a button to press and then the system will regulate everything itself. For example, using GPS, the system can examine the route to be taken for slopes so that the vehicle can utilise them in the smartest manner. It can also sense how surrounding traffic is behaving. Or communicate with traffic lights and signal whether the truck needs to stop, slow down or continue at the same speed," he continues.
This system will be put to the test on 14-15 May when the KTH/Scania truck will take part in a competition in Holland against ten other teams, of which another two also come from Sweden. The other vehicle manufacturers in the competition include Fiat, Volvo, Volkswagen, Audi, Mazda, Ford and DAF.
All the vehicles in the competition are equipped with a GPS that measures position and speed. Signals are transmitted via wireless links that everyone can receive. The driver only steers. Accelerator and brakes are regulated by the system. The trucks will start in two groups. One group slightly ahead standing at a red light. The second group farther behind. The rear group starts first, accelerates and approaches the front group. The idea is that they, via wireless communication, are to find each other and form a convoy who will then travel out onto the highways where they accelerate, brake and test how well they can keep the proper distance between them.
"The objective is to measure how we can exploit and utilise the information generated in the best possible manner," explains Jonas Mårtensson, Project Manager of Scoop and researcher in automatic control.
There are several essential factors that affect whether this system is able to function to its full potential, not least the fact that the infrastructure and highway network must be adapted to this technology. This is why the competition is so important.
"This is a way of increasing interest in, and stimulating, developments. But in order to get governments and cities to take this type of decision on expenditure, vehicle manufacturers must prove that developments are moving along in the right direction," states Elin Stålklinga.
She is currently doing her degree thesis within the framework of this project and has developed the strategy for vehicle control, i.e. how available information can best be utilised in order to control the accelerator and brakes of the KTH truck.
"In Holland the government and the university are cooperating on this issue. The vehicle manufacturers justify this competition by claiming that it will develop the relevant functions. The state's contribution has been to expand the infrastructure so that it is possible to test this technology," explains Assad.
What happens if we don't develop this type of system?
"The risk is that increasing amounts of traffic will overload the road network. The choice is between reducing traffic levels or extending the road network which is expensive and takes a long time. Or, you utilise new technology to make it all more efficient. If you have good technology that can deal with the information then you can optimise routes, redirect traffic if there is congestion, optimise more than your own surroundings," asserts Jonas.
• More information on the project available at the Scoop Project Website
For more information please contact Jonas Mårtensson, jonas.martensson@ee.kth.se, +46 (0)87907423
