New research assesses potential for driver-assistive truck platooning

The Phase One Final Report of the Driver-Assistive Truck Platooning (DATP) initiative was recently released by the research team. The DATP truck platooning research, which was funded by a grant from the US Department of Transportation's Exploratory Advanced Research program, utilises radar, vehicle-to-vehicle communications and video technologies to decrease over-the-road truck headways, with the objective of improving fuel economy without compromising safety.
May 29, 2015 Read time: 2 mins

The Phase One Final Report of the Driver-Assistive Truck Platooning (DATP) initiative was recently released by the research team.  The DATP truck platooning research, which was funded by a grant from the US Department of Transportation's Exploratory Advanced Research program, utilises radar, vehicle-to-vehicle communications and video technologies to decrease over-the-road truck headways, with the objective of improving fuel economy without compromising safety.

As a core team member of the project, the 5478 American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) was involved in multiple tasks including the development and assessment of trucking industry user requirements.  It was also the project lead for development of the business case for truck platooning.

Some of the Phase 1 results identified include: Up to 10 percent fuel economy for the trailing truck, and up to 5 percent fuel economy for the leading truck; Truckload and line-haul LTL operations would likely be the greatest beneficiaries of a platooning system, particularly among larger fleets; Fleets and drivers who operate average truck trips of more than 500 miles would experience the highest returns on investment from platooning.

Modellers at Auburn University confirmed that platooning would not negatively impact traffic flows, and could improve traffic flows if truck market penetration reached 60 per cent;

The research also found that platoon formation in some operations appears to be feasible, based on a case study using actual truck movement data from ATRI's truck GPS database; and small fleets and owner-operators required an investment payback period of 10 months, while larger fleets had a mean payback expectation of 18 months.

In Phase 2 of the DATP project, the research team will be conducting both test-track and on-road pilot testing of the system.  In addition, the team will monitor and assess a variety of human factors considerations including driver satisfaction, driver training requirements and driver operational experiences.  The business case analysis will be extended based on these results.

The DATP research team is led by Auburn University and includes ATRI, Bishop Consulting, Peloton Technology, Peterbilt Trucks, and Meritor Wabco.

Location Based Systems

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Telematics standards need to evolve to keep up with technology
    July 30, 2012
    Scott Andrews and Scott McCormick take a look at how standards development for the telematics environment needs itself to evolve in order to stay abreast of technological advances. While the road has been somewhat arduous, telematics has evolved from a research activity to a resource for fleet operators, consumers and road management authorities.
    Read More
  • Connected vehicle technology the solution to safety?
    January 25, 2012
    A series of 'driver clinics' is under way across five states, as vehicle manufacturers and the US Government pin their hopes on connected vehicles becoming the next big advance in road safety. Pete Goldin reports. What would a car say if it could talk? Its first words might be: "Here I am". Many vehicles are communicating that very message to each other right now. Admittedly, this is in controlled environments of US Department of Transportation (USDoT) tests, but within the next few years 'connected vehicle
    Read More
  • IRD joins Canadian data vault project
    April 9, 2021
    IRD will collect roadside data to improve resilience of Canada’s prairie road network
    Read More
  • Countering truckers’ parking conundrum
    May 3, 2017
    Colin Sowman hears about a new truck parking information system being piloted across eight states. Legislation limits truck drivers’ hours with the result that they are often caught in a situation where they need to stop either for a break or an overnight rest. But as truck parking is in short supply, truck drivers spend an average of 56 minutes a day searching for available spaces and are often faced with the choice of driving beyond their permitted hours or parking illegally.
    Read More

Highlighted Content