Daimler's Predictive Power Control "sees ahead" to help trucks save fuel
By Ben Coxworth
May 23, 2012
Daimler's new GPS-based Predictive Power Control system automatically shifts trucks into lower gears as they approach hills
Although transport truck drivers routinely shift gears when going up or down hills, those hills can sometimes sneak up on them. Using Daimler’s GPS-enabled Predictive Power Control, however, the new Mercedes-Benz Actros tractor unit will now be able to see those hills coming. This will allow it to automatically change gears before the going gets tough, resulting in fuel savings of up to three percent over moderately difficult topography.
In 2009, Daimler introduced a system known as Predictive Cruise Control, on its Freightliner trucks in the U.S. This uses GPS data to control the vehicle’s speed and braking functions for maximum efficiency, given its present geographical location. Predictive Power Control is built on this system, but uses its knowledge of the road ahead to also preemptively downshift the Actros by one or two gears.
According to Daimler, the system’s performance “could only be matched by an extremely motivated truck driver with an exceptional level of concentration.”
An experienced freelance writer, videographer and television producer, Ben's interest in all forms of innovation is particularly fanatical when it comes to human-powered transportation, film-making gear, environmentally-friendly technologies and anything that's designed to go underwater. He lives in Edmonton, Alberta, where he spends a lot of time going over the handlebars of his mountain bike, hanging out in off-leash parks, and wishing the Pacific Ocean wasn't so far away. All articles by Ben Coxworth
Wonder if anyone has calculated the surface area of our nations trucks to see how many millions of gallons of gas could be saved by using the free electricity produced by solar PV? These pollution monsters spew their stinky diesel smell and carbon monoxide back and forth across the country. Seems like some innovating engineer could alleviate this problem to some degree.
electric3830th May, 2012 @ 11:15 pm PDT
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3% savings - considering the amount of fuel those trucks use - is nothing to sneeze at. They could probably squeeze another few percentage points out if they had topographical road data overlaid over GPS data, which could allow a cruise-controlled vehicle to pre-accelerate down a hill to help get over the next one, or merely turn the engine off when almost over the top of a steep hill, coasting down.
Self-driving vehicles will really be able to take advantage of every technique to save fuel, and freight vehicles IMO are actually a great first candidate for such autodriving systems, as they'd benefit the most from the positional data from sensors and fuel savings. Can't wait for the future to be here.
Joel Detrow24th May, 2012 @ 05:32 pm PDT