I had the opportunity to take part in the Peterbilt Technology Showcase 2015, held late last month at the company's Training Center at its Denton, TX, manufacturing plant. The event was to showcase a number of its “latest and greatest” developments.
There were presentations by a number of officials. Among them Darrin Siver, Peterbilt general manager and Paccar vp; Robert Woodall, Petebilt’s assistant general manager, sales and marketing; Scott Newhouse, Peterbilt’s chief engineer; Andy Weiblen, Peterbilt’s director of product planning; and Ron Augustyn, Denton plant manager.
Issues discussed
Topics addressed included:
- Rapid Check – Peterbilt’s new quick assessment service program that provides customers with diagnostics and an estimate of needed repairs in two hours or less.
- SmartLINQ – A factory-installed a remote diagnostics technology option that provides real-time notifications if a vehicle’s onboard diagnostics trigger a service event.
- The company's holistic approach to fuel efficiency.
- The Peterbilt Technician Institute – an exclusive curriculum focused on comprehensive service technician training – and the Peterbilt Dealer Training Academy, which offers ongoing training for dealer personnel.
- Advanced concepts like lane keeping, GPS Autopilot and camera systems for safety around the truck, which include a 360-degree bird's' eye view and an infrared forward camera.
- New robotics and processes to the Denton truck plant, including a non-contact laser alignment system for total vehicle alignment – the first for a truck plant in North America – and a robotic chassis paint system.
Model 579
A ride-and-drive was held at the Texas Motor Speedway in conjunction with the Showcase. It was here I got to try out some Peterbilt’s “new stuff,” including the Peterbilt Model 579 – the most fuel efficient truck in the company’s history, introduced in 2013 – as well as the Model 579 equipped with the enhanced EPIQ package that provides even more fuel efficiency.
The EPIQ version includes complete aerodynamic styling and fairings/closeouts; the optimized APEX drivetrain – which pairs the PACCAR MX-13 engine and the Fuller Advantage Automated Transmission with proprietary, optimized communication technology; low rolling resistance tires and the SmartTire Pressure Monitoring System for a 14 percent improvement in fuel efficiency over previous models with the APEX, Peterbilt officials told me.
Advanced concepts
While I wasn’t allowed to drive one of the Model 579 advanced technology tractors, I did ride along for a demonstration of Perebilt’s fully functional autonomous vehicle control system that is an extension of existing individual systems already available for today’s commercial vehicles.
That vehicle control system includes:
- Radar-based adaptive cruise control that automatically accelerates and decelerates to maintain safe following distances.
- A lane departure warning system (also known as lane keeping) which incorporates a sophisticated camera system that includes a 360-degree view around the tractor and a forward-facing infrared camera to guide and center the tractor within the lane.
- The ability to self-correct the vehicle through integration with an electronically-controlled steering system.
- A GPS Autopilot system that controls the truck’s braking, steering and acceleration in order to drive a waypoint-based route.
The goal is for the autonomous vehicle control system to be programmed real-time by the driver using a console-mounted touchscreen monitor to set GPS coordinates. Then, the truck would traverse those points, being cognizant of objects and the sharpness of the turns ahead, and would automatically slow the vehicle when necessary.
Peterbilt officials noted the driver remains in control of the vehicle at all times and can override the autopilot by truing the steering wheel, accelerating or braking.
Ride along
For my ride along, the driver turned the autopilot one, released the brakes and the tractor did the rest. We safely traversed a circuitous route and returned to our starting point, all while the driver just sat there.
We did this several times, and the tractor always performed flawlessly – all without driver participation.
Impressive.
Additional photos from the event can be found in our Online Media center at www.vehicleservicepros.com/12080041.