{"id":7032,"date":"2022-03-31T16:12:27","date_gmt":"2022-03-31T14:12:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.intellias.com\/?p=7032"},"modified":"2023-08-28T11:00:03","modified_gmt":"2023-08-28T09:00:03","slug":"autonomous-fleet-management","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/intellias.com\/autonomous-fleet-management\/","title":{"rendered":"Autonomous Fleet Management of Electric Semi-Trucks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Did you know that trucks carry about 70% of all goods in the US, which makes around $719 billion in revenue? Fleet management for trucks is a vital component of efficient logistics, and innovative truck fleet management software becomes a must-have with highly automated trucks ready to hit the roads.<\/p>\n

At the same time, the industry experiences a tremendous shortage of truck drivers: in 2017 the turnover reached 90%. The job is physically inert and psychologically exhausting, trips may take up to months at a time, not to mention the stress of being responsible for tons of goods worth thousands of dollars. Evidently, the field of logistics<\/a> needs some serious revision and enhancement. Perhaps, certain revolutionary changes can revive the industry? Elon Musk has a plan.<\/p>\n

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Tesla – a pioneer in semi-automated trucks<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"Autonomous<\/p>\n

While everyone is still hyped about an electric sports car flying towards Mars and the futuristic Solar City, we would like to talk about Tesla\u2019s more practical invention – a semi-automatic truck presented in November 2017. Tesla\u2019s Semi<\/a> is a brand-new Class 8 electric truck that can go about 500 miles on a single battery charge (fully loaded) and accelerate from 0 to 60 mph (100 km\/h) in 20 seconds. Semi has four electric motors of the Tesla Model 3 type, two for each drive axle. A driver seat is at the center for maximum visibility, surrounded by armor glass and two screens on both sides of the wheel. Semi also offers rollover protection thanks to the low center of gravity and no jackknifing due to its independent motors.<\/p>\n

But, of course, Tesla wouldn\u2019t be Tesla without the cool technological features it included into their truck. Semi can boast an enhanced Autopilot that keeps and automatically changes lanes, matches speed to traffic conditions, warns about the possibility of collision and urgently brakes the vehicle in extreme situations. In case of medical emergency, Semi will stay in the lane and gradually come to a stop. It can even call 911 for the driver if the person is not responding. Elon Musk says it is a massive safety increase for everyone: truck drivers, pedestrians and people in other cars on the road. As you can imagine, a fleet of such vehicles can be ten times safer than the ones that can only be operated by human drivers.<\/p>\n

A lot of big players feel optimistic about Semi and have already made their pre-orders on the Tesla electric truck and ready to use it with other fleet management self driving cars solutions. Check out the list<\/a>: Pepsi, Walmart, Anheuser-Busch, Sysco, UPS, Meijer, Ryder and others have reserved from 1 to 125 Semis. Sounds like a promising long-term perspective for highly autonomous fleet management, doesn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n

Electric truck manufacturers take the stage<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"Autonomous<\/p>\n

Automation and electrification are two tendencies that characterize the state of the automotive industry today. It’s not surprising since electric vehicles have less moving parts and are easier for computers to control. This brings new challenges to car manufacturers as well as software development companies.<\/p>\n

Tesla is undoubtedly the most popular name in the industry but it is definitely not the single company on the market of semi-autonomous electric trucks. Two years ago, Mercedes succeeded in saving about 64% of operating costs with its fleet of eight Fuso Canter E-Cell electric trucks. TransPower, a California-based company, provides adapted semi-trucks to such large corporations as IKEA, SA Recycling, and Dole Fresh Fruits. The only problem is the battery life: all of those fleets can operate eight to ten hours a day and then need to be recharged.<\/p>\n

Waymo tries to keep up with Tesla in terms of self-driving electric vehicles and plans to test a\u00a0fleet management system for autonomous vehicles<\/a> in Arizona and Shanghai this year. Another company, Starsky Robotics<\/a>, builds small robots that can physically control some mechanisms of the truck. This adds autonomous capabilities to a vehicle but leaves the remote control to the driver. By the way, the company has received $3.75 million in investments since they started the project in 2015.<\/p>\n

Trying to meet the market demand, big software vendors and automotive startups turn their attention to the fleet management of\u00a0self-driving cars and planning systems. They shouldn\u2019t, however, ignore the possibility of driverless or at least semi-autonomous truck fleets becoming a widespread reality and needing advanced software to lead them. At the same time, if we can expect a wide range of fleet management applications<\/a> for traditional heavy trucks, few transportation companies are ready to embrace the completely driverless future.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s on the fleet management for autonomous vehicles market?<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"Autonomous<\/p>\n

If your company owns a single truck, you will probably be fine not using any specific software. And sure, you can monitor every truck if you have three of them. But it would be very difficult to manage a big, successful transportation business without proper transportation and logistics applications<\/a>. Scheduling, route planning, tracking, communication, maintenance and so on are the perfect tasks for various fleet management software apps.<\/p>\n

The basic functionality any fleet management software needs includes:<\/strong><\/p>\n