‘So to Speak’ with Dhiyanesh Ravichandran
When commercial mobility and engineering meet consumer technology at CES Las Vegas, there is more than what meets the eye!
It was actually Consumer Electronics Show – an annual trade show held every January since 1960s at Las Vegas, Nevada (US), exhibiting latest technologies from consumer electronics industry. But lately, the organisers no more call it that way, it’s simply ‘CES’ with letters that doesn’t stand for anything. Because, it’s hardly a personal electronics show these days, but an outright automotive show that has become as fancy as NAIAS or IAA Hanover! The electronics technology is to blame, as its scope is increasingly seizing every aspect of our lifestyle, with no exception to mobility or commercial transport whatsoever. At CES 2019 early this January, the staggering level of influence that consumer electronics extend on commercial vehicle development was spot-lit quite succinctly. Welcome to the new age of commercial mobility!
Let me start with some really freakish ideas of future commercial logistics exhibited at the show. Tech supplier Continental proposed an eccentric thought for last mile parcel delivery. A self-driving delivery vehicle, also electrified, will carry ‘robot dogs’ to bring home your orders – a vision of cascaded robot delivery for an efficient transport team. In a similar vein, ZF demonstrated its ‘Robo Taxi’ autonomous light commercial vehicle technology, which the company claims as flexible and modular solution for future last-mile mobility. Bosch, for its part, did feature driverless electric concept shuttle at the show.
On the other hand, the development of autonomous trucking technology aimed at immediate future is also in full swing. China-based Silicon Valley tech firm PlusAI showcased an advanced L4 autonomous driving technology in an International LT series tractor. The system integrates deep learning visual algorithms and lane detection, LiDAR, SLAM for map positioning, and other techs for precision positioning and control. The company says that the application of autonomous driving to trucking will create massive economic impacts by reshaping the transportation industry ecosystems.
Meanwhile, CES 2019 also saw some critical wisdom on the concept of truck platooning that European truck makers were betting on in the last few years. Daimler Trucks confirmed its decision to give up its R&D on platooning, citing abysmal potential gain in fuel efficiency that is hardly cost-effective. At the same time, the company’s boss Martin Daum announced an additional 500 million Euros to bring SAE L4 of truck automation on to the roads within a decade. At the show, Daimler’s subsidiary Freightliner assured hands- and foot-free driving capability (L2 of autonomous driving) in 2019 Cascadia truck, which will hit US road later this year.
American CV giant Paccar choose the CES platform to unveil innovative zero-emission trucks designed for a wide range of commercial haulage applications. This includes battery-electric Peterbilt Model 579EV and 220EV, and a hydrogen fuel cell Kenworth T680 developed along with Toyota. The group’s innovation center located at Silicon Valley is coming up with next-gen driver assistance and human-machine interface systems for CVs. That’s perhaps why the Paccar’s chief technology officer Kyle Quinn rightly said that CES is an outstanding forum to showcase the group’s advanced engineering leadership.
The 2019 Mercedes-Benz Actros truck with no external mirrors (refer to ‘So to Speak’ column, MOTORINDIA December 2018, page 120) that is equipped with ‘Mirror Cam’ system, jointly developed with Bosch, was a one of the honourees of CES Innovation Awards this year. Electrification, automation and networking are emerging as critical enablers in passenger mobility and goods transportation. The trajectory of these global megatrends will invariably influence the engineering of commercial vehicles in myriad ways we would hardly imagine. Contrary to the popular idiom “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas”, the technological marvels previewed at CES, Las Vegas will never stay within the closed labs of the exhibitors. CES is a bright prophecy of future electronics and mobility.
I’d love to know what you think, email your views to dhiyanesh@motorindiaonline.in