---

Past Issues

October 2005

---

future technology

Every day DaimlerChrysler AG invests approximately €15 million (R118 million) into research and development (R&D) which results in it being awarded some 2 000 patents every year. Around €1-billion is made available annually for commercial vehicle innovations that are developed around the world, especially in the widely diverse markets of Europe, America and Asia. Mitsubishi Fuso in Japan - an 85% owned subsidiary - has, for example, been selected as DaimlerChrysler's centre of competency in hybrid drive technologies. With a focus on customer-relevant innovations, this massive R&D outcome was presented in Germany at 'Technology Days' organised by DaimlerChrysler communications. Fifty developments aimed at enhancing safety, environmental protection, lowering fuel consumption, reducing driver fatigue, increasing productivity and improving handling were discussed and demonstrated at a vast automotive test track in Papenburg - the ATP - in Northern Germany near the Dutch border. Dave Scott, our technical correspondent was there to see how it all relates to South Africa. Here are just a few pertinent observations.

Visions can indeed become reality. Exhibits at the first DaimlerChrysler Technology Days in Papenburg in 1999 highlighted the transfer of visonary technology into workable solutions. Today, six years later, many ideas and developments displayed in 1999 have advanced well beyond research and testing stages and can now be ordered as optional equipment and in some cases, are even specified as standard.

Assistance and safety systems available for the Mercedes-Benz Actros such as stability control, proximity control and the Lane Assistant are already familiar sights in Europe and in southern Africa. And many other innovations have come a long way on the road towards series production.
Similarly, many of the ideas and visions on show at the Technology Days in 2005 will become reality in the foreseeable future. Some of them will need patience and time.

After a headlong rush into Actros technologies that backfired in the mid-nineties, DaimlerChrysler realised that 'even commercial vehicles require special care and a no-rush approach during the development phase'. A complex sequence of movements, heavyweight design, extremely wide-ranging load conditions and diverse applications makes trucking reliability and durability a slow-maturing process in a world that expects rapid change.

Another vision that has become reality is the use of the same components around the globe, although slight regional adjustments are sometimes necessary. Mercedes-Benz engines, for example, are now installed in thousands of American trucks and feature exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) systems that have been adapted in line with local needs and requirements. In Europe, however, DaimlerChrysler is committed to switching from EGR to SCR - Selective Catalytic Reduction - in the future. 
 

Will the rear end of truck tractors look like this in the future? LED lights and automatic coupling through the kingpin will assist in tidying up the usual scrappy hauler back-end

	On the ATP track at speed - watch out for Porsches!

(Bottom left) The Truck Product Creation (TPC) unit has 15 sites in seven countries and incorporates all process involved in producing DaimlerChrysler trucks - a major benefit is transfer of global know-how.  The Mitsubishi Concept is a vehicle study that provides a realistic view of the truck tractor of the future.

Emergency brakes independent of driver decision & control
Sometimes a fraction of a second or a little assistance to help the driver make a decision is all it takes to avoid an accident. One of the latest examples of this, due to be launched in March 2006 and nominated for the 'German award for innovation' in 2002, is the 'Telligent' emergency braking system for trucks. This will go a long way towards preventing head-to-tail crashes or at least reducing collision impact.

The emergency braking system uses the three radar beams of the proximity control system to detect moving obstacles in the lane ahead of the truck - within a range of 7 to 150m and 30 - continuously calculating the difference in speed between the two vehicles. If the traffic situation does not change and an accident is unavoidable, the driver first receives a visual warning - a red triangle symbol lights up - followed by an audible warning. If the risk of a collision increases, partial braking (30% of braking power) is initiated to give the driver a further warning. If the driver does not react, the system automatically applies the full braking power.

The systems works well provided the rig is well-balanced in terms of overall braking and equipped with ABS - throwing one of South Africa's under-maintained, old trailers with manual slack adjusters into emergency braking can be disastrous. 

The importance of research is shown in the following pie-chart that breaks down the most common driver faults leading to serious incidents on the road. We must also ask - how would this appear in South Africa as a benchmark for fault analysis?

Given that we travel faster at night with 56t combinations as opposed to 40t in Europe, that driving hours on South African roads are not policed and that lights are not well maintained, rear-end collisions probably rank at 40% for trucking in South Africa. 1998 was the last year for stats to come out of the DoT so let's take 40% as a local benchmark for this incident type.

Enhancing vision range whatever the weather
The range of conventional dipped headlamps is limited to around 40 to 50 metres so as not to dazzle oncoming traffic and most of the time trucks are forced to travel on dipped beam. But emergency stopping distances can be up to 150m.

A system called Night View Assist enhances this range of vision considerably and thus further helps to reduce the risk of accidents when it is dark. The system is based on infrared light invisible to the human eye that does not dazzle oncoming traffic. In addition to the existing headlamps, two infrared headlamps illuminate the road ahead and extend the truck driver's range of vision to around 150 metres when a dipped beam is switched on - even in the rain or fog and when oncoming vehicles have their headlamps switched on.

Night View Assist allows a driver to see pedestrians, cyclists, parked cars, other obstacles and practically everything that is happening on the road at a much earlier stage. An infrared camera on the inside of the windscreen records the reflected image of the road and projects it onto a black-and-white display on the dashboard.

Here, once again, commercial vehicle developers benefit from the experience of their counterparts in the passenger car unit of the DaimlerChrysler Group: Night View Assist is being offered as an option for the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class - a first in the car industry. A survey conducted at the International Commercial Vehicle Show in Hanover last year revealed just how much of a benefit this system would be for heavy-duty commercial vehicles. Over 90% of those asked claimed the system would be very useful or useful. Night view assist is likely to be made available for trucks within a few years.
 

This is a standard long-haul USA rig - at 36,3t GCM and 15,4t per double axle. The European rigs are all 4 X 2 truck tractors with tri-axle trailers at a total of 40t GCM. Compare this to our 56t combinations and one begins to understand the severity of SA trucking.

MDAS-II warns tired drivers
If the driver is unable to keep the truck in the middle of its lane, this often indicates the onset of fatigue and therefore, lapses in concentration while driving. Using a complex active assistance system, the MDAS-II (Mitsubishi Driver's Attention Monitoring System) warns the truck driver if concentration levels start to dip and in this way, helps to prevent accidents.

At the heart of the system is a combination featuring the Lane Assistant, a camera system and radar-based proximity control. The driver receives a warning when there is a risk of the vehicle crossing over the lane limit lines or if there is not enough distance between the truck and the vehicle in front. The warnings increase as the situation becomes more critical. This has practical application for South African drivers and is just a matter of initial cost balanced against high duty cycle, load value and operational risk factors.
 

Skid and steering control systems are very much part of DaimlerChrysler active safety research - and well demo'ed.

The square lens is an infrared beam that sees ahead for 150m at night, allowing a driver to anticipate obstacles beyond a dipped beam that reaches only 50m.

Night view assist uses infrared cameras to detect danger up ahead, future cruise control systems will anticipate what lies ahead and a pedestrian detection system will initiate emergency braking if a person carelessly steps into the road.

Cruise control that looks ahead
Conventional cruise control systems maintain a pre-programmed road speed, within the bounds of possibility. However, since they are passive systems, they cannot react to external influences, i.e. they cannot 'see' or automatically respond to the changing situation on the road.

Freightliner is working on an advanced cruise control system called 'Predictive Cruise Control' - PCC which reacts to information stored on a three-dimensional road map and uses this data to create a predictive driving strategy. It sets the speed selected by the driver, taking into account fuel consumption and driving time. Thanks to its GPS receiver, PCC always knows the precise location of the truck.

By way of example, PCC accounts for the weight of the vehicle, detects dangerous downhill stretches at an early stage and decelerates in good time before less-steep descents in order to save fuel. The result is a tangible fuel saving and less potential for danger while the driving time remains the same. Vehicles with PCC are already undergoing tests and the system could be in production by 2010. Link in a driver's use of cruise control to remuneration packages and this device could change driver training forever in South Africa.

Conclusion
The world has been highly critical of DaimlerChrysler technology in the past with recalls - mainly on the car side - and faults attracting attention. However, one has to stand back and admire the relentless way they are advancing and consolidating their act. These 'Technology Days' were conducted in an atmosphere of complete transparency where the 77-page press kit was backed up with complete access to high-qualified engineers and track demos - in most cases the international press was allowed to drive and feel the difference.

In terms of global resources, it's quite clear that Mercedes-Benz, Freightliner and Fuso are not operating in 'independent information silos'. The brands make up the world's largest truck production over 6,5 ton GVM and they are becoming a main storehouse of trucking knowledge and information. And the power of the computer is inseparable from trucking.

DaimlerChrysler has taken risks to lead the way in information technologies that are applied via mechatronics to make wheels turn and stop in the world of diesel and dust. DaimlerChrysler's intellectual capital, not its output, is rapidly becoming its critical mass factor as it speeds ahead into the future. Let's leave the final word to engineer Bernhard Sauer, who commented to me on the ATP test track: "Without trucks we wouldn't have cars!"