Federal Highway Administration showcases truck platooning technology

The US Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has conducted the first of a two-day demonstration of three-truck platoons on I-66 in Virginia. The results of a four-year research project to test the effectiveness of state-of-the-art driving and communications technologies were showcased at the event. Truck platooning uses vehicle-to-vehicle communications technology to allow trucks to follow each other more closely – at about one second apart – and travel in a more coordinated fashion.
September 15, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
The US Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has conducted the first of a two-day demonstration of three-truck platoons on I-66 in Virginia. The results of a four-year research project to test the effectiveness of state-of-the-art driving and communications technologies were showcased at the event.


Truck platooning uses vehicle-to-vehicle communications technology to allow trucks to follow each other more closely – at about one second apart – and travel in a more coordinated fashion.

While various aspects of truck platooning have been studied for years, FHWA’s Exploratory Advance Research program has taken testing to new levels with the addition of cooperative adaptive cruise control (CACC) technology, which adds vehicle-to-vehicle communications to the adaptive cruise control capability now available in new vehicles. This connectivity allows trucks to operate more smoothly as a unit, reducing and controlling the gaps between vehicles.

The demonstration involved partially automated trucks – which are not driverless, and used professional drivers. The advanced technology that makes platooning possible is meant to supplement, not replace, the nation’s commercial motor vehicle operators.

UTC

Related Content

  • November 25, 2016
    Autonomous truck platooning moves up a gear with NXP and DAF Trucks
    NXP Semiconductors is setting the pace in truck platooning with full-size commercial vehicles that can run at 80kmph only 11 metres apart, offering up to 11 per cent in fuel savings. The Dutch technology company believes that “there’s no better place than truck platooning to demonstrate the merits of autonomous driving.” Its research team has been working with DAF Trucks to develop leading edge technology that can make driving decisions ‘30 times faster than human reaction time’. NXP says that adapt
    Read More
  • April 6, 2016
    European Truck Platooning Challenge gets under way
    Something huge in the field of connected vehicle technology and automated driving, which is grabbing headlines around the world, will arrive here at Intertraffic Amsterdam later today. Dirk-Jan de Bruijn, programme director of the European Truck Platooning Challenge 2016, sets the scene and looks to the future.
    Read More
  • March 29, 2023
    What are AVs doing in rural Ohio?
    Autonomous vehicle pilots so far have been typically sighted in urban areas. But researchers in rural regions of Ohio are now trying to find out exactly what benefits they could bring to the countryside
    Read More
  • March 2, 2016
    European Truck Platooning Challenge winds up at Intertraffic
    As holder of the EU Presidency in 2016, the Netherlands has organised the 2016 European Truck Platooning Challenge and it is no coincidence that it will involve Intertraffic Amsterdam. Truck platooning, where two or more trucks travel in convoy very close to each other, provides many benefits. The first truck does the driving while the ones following are connected by a wireless electronic communications system, like the carriages of a train.
    Read More

Highlighted Content