Truckmaker sees swift IT developments as part of the future for the Australian industry
After more than a decade of massive advancements in engine technology, telematics is the next frontier according to Isuzu Australia chief engineer Simon Humphries.
Speaking at a recent media event, Humphries heralded the “arrival of the truly intelligent truck”.
Europe and the United States are rapidly moving towards the use of Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS), vehicle- to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communications.
Around 85 per cent of Australian fleets with more than 25 trucks have already embraced telematics as a part of their fleet management to date.
Humphries sees a future for this technology on the Australian market, the boundaries of which are “limited only by imagination”.
With this in mind Isuzu Australia is rolling out more features for its telematics products, Isuzu Connect and Isuzu Connect Plus.
Driver ID log on, and real time messaging between base and vehicle are on track to be available by the end of this year.
The company is also investigating an electronic work diary component and has flagged future changes to road transport charges which can all be potentially monitored through telematics systems.
Isuzu Connect and Isuzu Connect Plus were launched onto the Australian market earlier this year. The basic Connect system can be fitted to any brand of truck and can provide GPS tracking and fleet management.
The Connect Plus system is available only on Isuzu vehicles and can be integrated into the existing DAVE multimedia unit.
Connect Plus has full access to vehicle CAN data and can be accessed via computer, smartphone or tablet.
While fuel economy, vehicle location and driver behaviour can all be monitored, the system also features real time messaging capabilities which will be up and running by the end of the year.
We had the chance to see the upgraded system in action after driving a cross section of the Isuzu range.
Using a Google maps interface it was possible to follow the trucks and the drivers around a set route.
All the vehicles were also fitted with Mobileye, a driver alert system that scans the road environment around the truck.
The Mobileye unit can warn of changing speed zones, lane departure and impending collisions.
By the end of 2015 Humphries anticipates that Isuzu Australia will have integrated the Mobileye system into the DAVE unit and telemetry system.