Future of The Big Rigs - Robotic Trucking Convoys

Peloton Technology has developed a vehicle-to-vehicle communication system that has the potential to transform the trucking industry.

In this installment of Bloomberg’s “Wiring the World” series, the Silicon Valley startup says they can improve safety while cutting costs for thousands of trucks on the road.

Source: Bloomberg, video by: Sadie Bass, Justin Beach.

Trains of Driverless Trucks Are Way More Fuel Efficient

We are hard at work solving the two biggest challenges facing the $650Billion trucking industry: Accidents and Fuel Use. Peloton

Between 20 and 40 percent of the cost of shipping something by truck goes to fuel. A large amount of this fuel is simply burned as the engine fights air resistance, because trailers are so boxy and unaerodynamic. One way of cutting down on it is driving trucks in tight packs, so one can draft behind another.

Of course, it’s not safe for human drivers to draft off each other in this way, because it doesn’t allow for enough reaction time if the truck in front stops suddenly. But computers can do it, and recent tests in Nevada showed just how much fuel they can save.

The experiments by Peloton, a company that’s developing truck caravan technology in partnership with the Department of Transportation, showed that while traveling at 65 miles per hour 36 feet apart, two trucks packed together saved seven percent on fuel. This was the average for just two trucks (the lead saved 4.5 percent, and the rear saved 10 percent), so it should increase as trains get longer.

Last summer, the EPA introduced new fuel standards for heavy-duty vehicles that call for tractor-trailers to reduce their fuel consumption by 20 percent by 2018. It’s doubtful driverless technology will be ready that fast, but the new standards highlight the priority of cutting down on carbon emissions from long-haul trucks, which account for about 6 percent of total US emissions.

Related: Why Trucks Will Drive Themselves Before Cars Do