European Truck Platooning Challenge a success!
In the first cross-border experiment of its kind, six semi-automated truck convoys, representing six different truck manufacturers and their partners, have completed the European Truck Platooning Challenge, arriving in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, on April 6, 2016.
Truck platooning involves trucks driving a short distance apart using automated driving technology. Platooning reduces aerodynamic drag and thus fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. It is also intended to improve the safety and the flow of traffic. The Truck Platooning Challenge demonstrates that a second vehicle is technically capable of automatically following the combination ahead using wireless communications, radar and cameras. Estimates of fuel savings are as high as 20 per cent, partly due to the convoy being able to drive at a consistent speed set by the lead truck.
The truck platoons all departed from their home base or production location – Scania from Södertalje (Sweden), Volvo from Gothenburg (Sweden), Daimler from Stuttgart (Germany), MAN from Munich (Germany), IVECO from Brussels (Belgium) and DAF from Westerlo (Belgium) – and drove along public roads and highways. The initiative is a triumph of cooperation and coordination among the companies, industry associations, national governments and transportation authorities throughout Europe.
The European Truck Platooning Challenge was initiated by The Netherlands, which is currently the President of the Council of the European Union. To learn more about how platooning works, visit www.eutruckplatooning.com.
- Full story at Green Car Congress with arrival update from The Guardian.
- Photo: Scania truck platoon (Green Car Congress).