Connections Dig Deeper
More aspects of vehicle operation are being improved by leveraging cellular links.

Commercial-vehicle suppliers and owners who have been at the forefront of utilizing connectivity are pushing to gain further improvements. Safety is being enhanced as drivers are monitored for speed and hours, while predictive maintenance and software updating are helping improve efficiency.
Equipment suppliers aren’t waiting until the advent of 5G cellular links to improve their offerings. Existing cellular systems are being used to improve operations by using data collected from vehicle networks.
A wide range of apps augment data analysis tools and services. As the industry matures, cellular providers are providing basic tools, freeing specialists up so they can focus on designing new features and functions.

“Mobile resource management solutions give businesses better visibility and the ability to streamline day-to-day operations in the field,” said Chris Ransom, Associate Director of Solutions Engineering at Verizon Connect. “We help operations managers plan, monitor, dispatch, capture form data from the field, and communicate with customers. We also utilize the native capabilities of mobile—for example, our driver vehicle inspection report (DVIR) application uses the device’s GPS and time to determine if a driver actually completed a vehicle walkaround.”
Equipment manufacturers are racing to provide ways to safely update software on vehicles in order to give operators new features and functions. Firmware over-the-air (OTA) updates let owners install the latest software on vehicles in the field so they don’t have to return to maintenance facilities.
“Connectivity and remote programming open up new possibilities to ensure that the truck is always equipped with the most up-to-date soft- ware for its operations,” said Ash Makki, Product Marketing Manager at Volvo Trucks North America. “This is crucial in order to enable the truck to be operated in its most fuel efficient and productive way. It is also crucial for the drivers, fleet operators and service managers to have the most updated support functions on board the trucks.”
(Read more on OTA updating in the February issue’s feature..)
Time savers

A range of functions help drivers save even more time. Connectivity helps fleet managers monitor drivers to tweak actions to help improve safety while also improving efficiency. Automation also addresses both safety and efficiency by simplifying DVIR logging.
“Connectivity is being used a lot of ways,” said Andy Dondlinger, Navistar’s General Manager of Connected Services. “One way is by tracking driver behavior—it can look for harsh braking and accelerating, it can see if seatbelts are buckled. In terms of workloads, driver logs are showing the back-end office the drivers’ availability, the hours they have driven. It’s done tremendous things for safety.”
Many fleet managers monitor driving activities to make sure that drivers are following corporate guidelines for safety and fuel economy. Programs that help drivers improve their safety and efficiency ratings are becoming commonplace.
“Enhancing safety must include some type of driver feedback,” said Dan Trujillo, North American Business Manager at ZF Openmatics. “Drivers need to know if there are better ways and more efficient ways to operate.”
Long-distance communications also let experts monitor the activities of several vehicles to further improve operations. For example, an agri- cultural expert can monitor the performance of several vehicles. Sophisticated equipment has several sensors that provide data on fac- tors like the quality of grain being harvested. Deere is now letting these experts make remote changes to improve yields or speed up operations.

“Often, there’s one person who really knows how to optimize yield; now they can remotely change parameters using their phone, assuming the operator agrees,” said Lane Arthur, Director, Digital Solutions, at John Deere. “For example, combine operators are always deciding between optimal grain loss levels or high yields. The remote expert can now help make those decisions.”
Remote monitoring also helps reduce unplanned downtime. Data from sensors throughout the vehicle can be monitored by servers to predict when failures will occur. So-called big data analysis techniques can spot minute changes that typically occur before failures. Vehicle repairs can be scheduled before breakdowns occur.
“Remote diagnostics enables us to support the customer in becoming increasingly proactive in the vehicle service and repair management,” Makki said. “Advanced remote diagnostics to a high extent eliminates unplanned stops and enables truck services and repairs to be managed proactively and route optimized with planned stops.”
Talking tractors
Most communication systems provide connection to the cloud or corporate offices. But linkups with other vehicles and roadside infrastructure platforms are beginning to join the party.

Vehicle-to-vehicle/-infrastructure (V2X) links are emerging, letting vehicles in the same vicinity share information that’s relevant to their operations. In agriculture, it’s becoming easier to share data between two or more vehicles operating in the same field.
“We have machines that can share data with each other,” Arthur said. “If you’ve got two machines in a field spraying or doing another job where it’s hard to tell what’s been done, they can share data so they don’t overlap.”
On highways, V2X is critical for platooning. All vehicles in a caravan need to know when the point truck brakes or alters speed. Additionally, vehicle-to-infrastructure links can reduce congestion and improve fuel consumption. Volvo is among the companies researching techniques that help trucks move more efficiently through urban areas.
“We are working on optimizing our trucks’ speed and route depending on how the traffic lights switch, thus lessening the need to stop for red lights and improving fuel efficiency, traffic flow and road safety,” Makki said. “We’re also working on research gathering information from road signs, crosswalks and bike lanes to alert drivers of what’s happening around them. In these research programs, the collaboration with differ- ent stakeholders is key; it requires a holistic way of working together with tech partners, infrastructure providers and legislation.”
System controllers treat V2X data much like input from sensors. Fusing various types of input is becoming a major design issue as the level of automated driving rises, since vehicles need to understand the totality of their surroundings in order to respond safely.
In both on- and off-highway vehicles, GPS data is an important element for navigating safely and efficiently. Agricultural OEMs typically enhance GPS inputs to improve precision. As costs decline and cover- age improves, some are expanding their use of cellular links.
“If you want to get grain from one vehicle onto another, V2V communication is critical,” Arthur said. “With V2V and GPS signals accurate down to 2.5 centimeters, the guy driving the tractor can have hands off. We just flipped to cellular last year to communicate be- tween vehicles. The cost of radios was high, and it had reliability problems. It’s simpler and cheaper to use cell phone towers.”
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