Building a Smarter Planet. A Smarter Planet Blog.

On the 28th of October IBM announced the findings of The Global Truck 2020 Study, titled “Transcending Turbulence”. The study comprises interviews with 91 executives in 13 countries, representing the entire truck value chain.

According to the study, respondents are focused on three key areas:

Technology  — ranked first as the most important external factor impacting the industry (70 percent of respondents agreed). And technology will not be limited to the trucks themselves but will be embedded in roads and traffic signals increasing the interaction and predictive analytical safety capabilities of these transport carriers.

Safety — Telematics will also enable stronger solutions for vehicle safety that have traditionally been addressed through manual methods and training.  Navigation assistance, speed control and greater efficiency will all play a role. 

Sustainability — an important external force impacting the trucking industry. Environmental and fuel efficiency standards along with new safety capabilities mandated by government regulations are forcing the trucking industry to change aggressively over the next decade.
Solutions relating to driver assistance, regulatory compliance and sustainability are closely linked. For example, an OEM might offer a solution that uses telematics to help determine the roads on which a vehicle is approved to travel and communicates that information to the driver, assisting both the driver and regulatory compliance. With regard to sustainability, an OEM could offer solutions to manage fuel economy through navigation and driver information or that switch to different power modes based on factors such as location and regulations.

 The use of these innovations will help truck manufacturers differentiate their vehicles, as the study shows that the actual brand name of the truck is becoming less important.

For a copy of the study please visit
http://bit.ly/l1Kga

On Thursday, a first prototype for the so-called On Board Unit was installed in a number of cars to be driven by employees of IBM and NXP. The prototype is the first of its kind for road user charging. This prototype demonstrates for the first time a technique that assigns price based on road type, time period and the environmental characteristics of the routes driven in the vehicle. Moreover, the road use fee can be displayed to the motorist in a clear and comprehensible manner. This technique makes it possible to charge each individual vehicle an ‘equitable’ fee for use of the highway network, both on main highways and secondary roads as part of a road user charging solution.

NXP and IBM have asked 50 employees who work at the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven to test the system for 6 months. Each participant will have an On Board Unit in his or her car that registers all trips and assigns a price for each trip. Using a secured web site, participants can see what route they have taken, how much this route costs them and whether their choice of route has led to lower costs or not. During the second phase of the test, the driver can travel outside rush hours or use a cheaper route between his residence and work site, which results in a lower price. A competitive aspect is introduced by rewarding those employees who change their driving habits most effectively. The trial is intended to demonstrate the practical application of the technique and to make employees aware that different driving habits will lead to considerable differences in driving expenses in the future.

In Belgium discussions have begun with the city of Leuven for a potential test. In Stockholm, a similar road user charging system is already in place