A local trucking technology company has launched its intelligent adaptive cruise control system for traditional and electric commercial vehicles. It will be available to commercial vehicle aftermarket and OE customers starting in 2021.
iQ-Cruise by Plymouth’s Traxen uses artificial intelligence, algorithms, and sensors to power the system, which can reduce fuel consumption by an average of 10 percent while improving safety, drivability, and profit margins.
“With fuel cost being one of the top operating costs for fleets worldwide, delivering a solution like Traxen’s iQ-Cruise that offers a 10 percent fuel efficiency improvement on average is a truly remarkable feat for the industry,” says Ali Maleki, founder and CEO of Traxen.
“We’re incredibly proud of what we have been able to accomplish through our comprehensive innovation process and the robust testing of our novel solution. Both aftermarket and OE customers, including those with electric vehicles, will immediately realize transformational benefits upon adoption of our sophisticated technology.”
iQ-Cruise monitors road conditions such as changes in elevation, curvature, traffic patterns, and weather miles beyond the driver’s visual field, controlling the speed as necessary. The driver is primarily responsible for steering and receives alerts through Traxen’s interface.
Traxen conducted its first side-by-side cross-country trial in August 2020. The test was conducted over the road starting in Plymouth, driving to Las Vegas, and driving back. iQ-Cruise bested seasoned truck drivers by executing more energy-efficient speed controls. The North American Council for Freight Efficiency was the independent reviewer in the field trial.
“Fuel is a very large expense for long-haul trucking fleets with lowering costs and subsequent emissions reductions being top priorities,” says Mike Roeth, executive director of the council. “In our analysis of Traxen’s cross country real-world field trial data, we observed fuel efficiency improvements in the range of 2 percent to 20 percent in various segments over a 6,100-mile cross-country drive. The average fuel efficiency improvement was 7 percent, which is very substantial and meaningful for the industry. We hope to see technologies like the iQ-Cruise deployed across the industry to improve freight efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
“Real world testing of fuel economy features is very challenging, with many variables at play including wind speed and direction, elevation, payload changes, and driver variations. The best practice is to combine all forms of analysis and testing to understand how a technology will perform for fleets.”
Traxen is continuing to improve iQ-Cruise. With the latest release of its software, the system is recording 10 percent fuel efficiency improvement on customer routes. The company predicts that by 2023, based on systemic learnings from 700 million miles of data obtained from customer drives, Traxen will top 15 percent in fuel efficiency gains.
The system’s features can also save on brake and tire wear, maintenance, insurance, and training costs.
“Traxen’s intuitive technology will have a direct, sizeable impact on a fleet’s bottom line upon adoption,” says Mary Petrovich, chairman of Traxen’s board. “In fact, fleets could save an average of $5,000 per truck per year using the proven iQ-Cruise – an enormous and immediate payback for the commercial vehicle industry.”
The solution is being piloted by several fleet customers and will be available to commercial vehicle aftermarket customers in the second quarter of 2021, followed by OE truck manufacturers shortly after.
