Templeton, Templeton, Narberth, Pembrokeshire, SA67 8RG
Tel: 01834 860464
DAF and TNO demonstrate ‘EcoTwin’
30th March 2015
During the Dutch "Automotive Week" in March, DAF and TNO deEcoTwin" project to the Dutch Minister of Infrastructure and the Environment, Schultz van Haegen and her Belgian opposite number. This demonstration on the N270 near Helmond showed two truck combinations – wirelessly linked via WiFi – driving a short distance from each other, with the driver in the second truck not being required to accelerate, brake and steer. This was a first in the Netherlands.
2-Truck platooning is the name for the concept where two trucks cooperate by driving a short distance from each other using automated driving technology. The intention of the EcoTwin project was to show that the second vehicle is technically able to follow a short distance from the front vehicle, using radar and camera information. The reduction in the gap between the two truck combinations is expetced to achieve fuel savings of 10% in the long term, along with equivalent reductions in CO2 emissions.
On the road around 2020
"Just because we have showed that 'automated platooning' with two trucks is technically feasible, that doesn't mean that we are actually there yet", says Ron Borsboom, member of the Board of Management of DAF Trucks N.V. and responsible for product development. "We still need to do quite a lot of development work to ensure that the technology is completely reliable in any situation. Issues like legislation, liability and acceptance also have to be taken care of properly. Along with TNO, we expect that transport companies will be able to operate the first trucks using truck platooning safely on Dutch motorways and some major provincial roads by around 2020." As a ground-breaking truck manufacturer, DAF is constantly exploring opportunities to further reinforce its leading position in the field of fuel efficiency and (thus) low CO2 emissions. EcoTwin is among the promising technologies and also contributes to general transport efficiency, which is one of DAF's spearheads in truck development.
Back to the latest news archive
Latest G D Harries & Sons News
