Challenges of realising the platooning dream explored by Graham Jarvis.
The impression that many people get is that driverless cars may grab the headlines but semi-automated convoys of trucks are much closer to being seen on the nation's roads. While that may be true, companies such as BP Ventures are investors in truck platooning with Peloton – a company that is developing truck platooning technology to save fuel and to reduce carbon emissions. The latter points are two of the reasons why many governments across the world are in favour allowing platooning, which sees trucks being led by a lead HGV with others following in what could be described as a train of trucks. The overall ambition of truck platooning is autonomous driving. For the meantime, a human driver still needs to be able to take the wheel.
Geoff Johnson from Peloton says: “National governments across the world have expressed support for, enabled, or helped fund truck platooning activities since the 1990s. Major activities include the Chauffeur and Chauffer II projects in Europe, followed more recently by HAVE-IT, SARTRE, and Konvoi. The Japanese government has facilitated platooning activity through the Energy ITS programme. In the US, the US Department of Transportation, US Army, and many state governments have directly supported truck platooning activities.”
Read the complete article… #YearInReview
Published by TU Automotive magazine on 18th August 2017. Author: Graham Jarvis.


Leave a comment