Mercedes-Benz Trucks introduces new connectivity and safety technologies

Ahead of the Commercial Vehicles show IAA in September, Mercedes-Benz Trucks introduced two new digital services, Mercedes-Benz Uptime and the FleetBoard store for apps, enabling customers to boost truck productivity on a daily basis.

In addition, Mercedes-Benz is launching state-of-the-art safety systems for heavy-duty commercial vehicles in the form of the Sideguard Assist and the latest Active Brake Assist (ABA 4) featuring pedestrian detection. The German carmaker is also aiming to reduce fuel consumption: its latest efficiency packages for Mercedes-Benz Actros models' to reduce consumption by six percent. By 2020, Daimler Trucks will invest around half a billion euros in the networking of its trucks with their surroundings and in developing specific new applications.

Stefan Buchner, head of Mercedes-Benz Trucks said, "Reliability and maximum availability are the top priority for our customers. With Mercedes-Benz Uptime we can considerably increase these requests thanks to real-time data and connectivity. Our customers have always expected us to provide them with the best vehicle in terms of efficiency, safety and connectivity. And we will continue to deliver that in future, too. On the occasion of the Commercial Vehicles show IAA we bring quite concrete innovations in all three divisions to market."

Uptime offers greater vehicle availability by using real-time data

Mercedes-Benz will launch Uptime at the Commercial Vehicles show IAA in September. The aim of the new service is to increase vehicle availability for operators in their day-to-day business. Mercedes-Benz Uptime offers the following features:

-  Due to continuous real time evaluation of the available data from the truck, the operator will be contacted actively before a part needs replacing or other repairs become absolutely necessary. This reduces the risk of breakdown and time lost by haulage contractors considerably. This is an important factor in countries such as France where roadside repairs are prohibited and any truck requiring repair has to be towed to a workshop.

-  Due to intelligent appointment scheduling, customers are able to plan maintenance and repairs for the ideal time in terms of their own order management and can, therefore, plan downtime more effectively.

-  Mercedes-Benz Uptime supports customers on maintenance and repair tasks that they perform themselves within their company's own fleet and workshop organisation.

How Uptime functions

- Mercedes-Benz Uptime continuously monitors the status of vehicle systems via a new connectivity hardware which is the same for all Daimler Trucks - rather like measuring the truck's pulse. Permanently, data from all the sensors installed in the vehicle are received and the status of the vehicle systems is checked all of the time and continuously.

- When an impending need for repair or maintenance work emerges, the truck relays this information automatically to the server of Mercedes-Benz Service. The data is analysed and interpreted there in real time.

- Together with specific recommended courses of action the data are then passed to the Mercedes-Benz service organisation.

- The service organisation then contacts the customer, provides support in the form of recommended courses of action and takes care of finding a workshop and the organisational matters in the case of urgent repairs.

FleetBoard Store for Apps as an open platform for third party providers

Mercedes-Benz Trucks will launch the new FleetBoard Store for Apps from early-2017. The open platform design means that software experts for other industry partners such as bodybuilders, logistics specialists and customers will be able to contribute useful apps for everyone involved in transportation.

At present, there are around 180,000 vehicles with FleetBoard systems in operation with around 6,000 customers. FleetBoard not only connects vehicles made by Mercedes-Benz. Other vehicle brands can also be retrofitted with the FleetBoard hardware at any time, and easily integrated into the logistics management system. Even companies with mixed fleets can keep track of their entire fleet at all times.

Pedestrian detection in trucks available for the first time

With Mercedes-Benz Trucks’ Sideguard Assist (pictured below) and Active Brake Assist 4, the company transfers the state-of-the-art safety technology into urban traffic and affords protection to the most vulnerable road users – pedestrians and cyclists. Sideguard Assist is the first assistance system available in the branch that draws the truck driver's attention to pedestrians and cyclists in cornering situations, and which can significantly increase safety in urban traffic. The German Insurance Association (GDV) expects that with a Sideguard Assist around half of all accidents between trucks and pedestrians and cyclists can be avoided in future.

Whereas Active Break Assist 3 already initiates braking fully automatically in response to stationary and moving obstacles such as slow-moving vehicles in front or at the end of a tailback, the new ABA 4 also detects pedestrians in urban traffic who are walking between parked cars onto the road. In this case, the vehicle will independently initiate partial braking.

Up to 6 percent less fuel consumption by Actros models

With the latest generation of heavy-duty truck engines from Mercedes-Benz and optimisations made to the vehicle as a whole, the consumption of Actros models will be lowered by up to 6 percent.

In conjunction with the optimised 12-speed PowerShift 3 transmissions, new low-friction engine oils, Predictive Powertrain Control (PPC) and aerodynamic measures, the Actros customer in 2016 benefits from up to 15 percent lower fuel consumption in comparison with the preceding model.

Recommended: Daimler Trucks to strengthen platform strategy, targets 700,000 unit sales by 2020