Starting early next year, Class 8 Kenworth and Peterbilt trucks will roll off the line looking more like the latest high-end passenger vehicles in one specific spot: the center dash stack. That's where both OEMs are factory-installing new high-definition touchscreen displays that interface with Paccar Connect, their parent company's new telematics platform announced earlier this week at the American Trucking Associations' Management Conference & Exhibition in Charlotte.

“It's really going to set the bar for in-cab digital interfaces and truck productivity,” said Patrick Dean, director of Paccar Electronics, at the show. He likened the new platform's potential impact on trucks to that of smart technology on phones.

Overall, the solution is designed to strengthen communication and visibility between drivers and the back office. The standard software will provide easy-to-understand truck health information accessible to drivers and managers, tutorials on truck operation, and guidance to dealers for service. The interfaces also include physical dials to control climate and media volume, as well as inputs to support eight cameras.

As a factory-integrated system, there's no need for added mounts or brackets to house compatible third-party applications. This also gives the OEMs greater control over the reliability of the interface, which is backed by the factory warranty.

Furthermore, Dean said Paccar has extensively tested the hardware in 300 validation trucks to ensure the new addition can perform in harsh trucking environments. “We have put it through almost 50,000 hours of operation, [compiled] over 90,000 engineering hours in the development process, and have put it through its paces in almost 300 hardware and electrical test protocols,” he said during the MCE presentation.

Paccar Connect will provide access to core native apps and a wider Virtual Vehicle software ecosystem through Platform Science, including applications for driver vehicle inspection reports (DVIRs) and hours-of-service logs.

Drivers will also gain a voice assistant capable of understanding 250 commands in English, Spanish, or French, as well as Apple CarPlay integration and climate control. Drivers can address the truck by its badge name and issue commands much like they would with a consumer voice assistant. For example, saying, “Hey Peterbilt, I'm cold,” will raise the temperature—all without the driver taking their eyes off the road or hands off the wheel. The steering wheel also retains the usual controls.

Features at a glance

Paccar will offer four subscription-free native apps. These include:

Vehicle Health: Software that displays, simplifies, and contextualizes diagnostic and fault-code data, providing potential causes and severity levels and indicating whether an issue can be addressed by the driver or requires a certified technician.

“Without going anywhere, calling anybody, or plugging anything in, they have all the information at their fingertips to understand the problem and the solution,” explained Chase Wolf, Peterbilt marketing segment manager.

Both drivers and fleet managers will have access to this data through the portal.

Digital Operator's Manual: Allows drivers to quickly search for information and guidance using keywords.

Video Driver Tutorials: Shows drivers how to complete certain truck operations. By scanning a QR code on the screen, drivers can access the videos on a smart device when they need to walk around the truck.

Dealer Locator: Uses GPS routing to direct drivers to nearby certified Kenworth and Peterbilt dealers and provides hours, distance, and one-touch calling to arrange service.

Same, but different

Though the trucks share foundational parts and technology, Kenworth and Peterbilt's engineering and design teams often take different approaches to solving the same problem. That's no different here. The core hardware and software are the same, but Kenworth chose a 15-inch horizontal display with three tactile dials for volume, temperature, and fan speed. Peterbilt opted for a 13-inch portrait-style display with a single “knob-on-glass” dial that controls media and HVAC.