HERE, Bosch, and CV manufacturer collaborate for efficient, sustainable trucking

For commercial vehicles, Daimler Truck offers Predictive Powertrain Control (PPC), a cruise control and gearbox control technology. The system considers several factors such as roadway terrain, curvature, slope, intersections, traffic signs, speed limits (which include requirements unique to trucks) and driving rules.

United States, Las Vegas- Here Technologies., the location data and technology platform, today announced its collaboration with Bosch and Daimler Truck AG on an advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) technology for commercial vehicles that automatically determines the most efficient driving style, helping to reduce driver stress, energy consumption, and CO2 emissions.

For commercial vehicles, Daimler Truck offers Predictive Powertrain Control (PPC), a cruise control and gearbox control technology. The system considers several factors such as roadway terrain, curvature, slope, intersections, traffic signs, speed limits (which include requirements unique to trucks) and driving rules. It is driven by the HERE ADAS Map and Bosch's Electronic Horizon software. The vehicle system optimizes driver comfort and fuel and battery use by minimizing needless braking, accelerating, and gear shifting through the seamless integration of this data.

The exact location of a truck on the road is linked by the HERE ADAS Map to establish an electronic horizon, to which the driving style is then automatically adjusted. The HERE ADAS Map provides the vehicle system data needed to anticipate and schedule gear changes as well as to predictably modify the vehicle's speed.

Both interurban and freeway roadways are compatible with the system. It results in an overall fuel reduction of up to 5% for commercial cars with combustion engines, which minimizes CO2 emissions. It greatly increases the energy efficiency of electric commercial vehicles, giving them a longer range.

As demonstrated by the recently unveiled eActros 600, the PPC system can also be directly linked to the on-board navigation system. In this instance, the system considers the route that the navigation system has predicted in order to help the driver recognize the conditions on the road ahead.

UniMap, HERE's next-generation map-making technology, makes this possible. By aligning all high-definition (HD), standard definition (SD), and accessible digital aerial imagery (ADAS) map data, UniMap creates a unified, semantically coherent digital world representation. This makes matching waypoints from the navigation to the ADAS map the PPC system utilizes simple.

UniMap uses artificial intelligence (AI) to process massive volumes of data from many sources, such as satellites, connected devices, automobile sensors, and light detection and range (LiDAR). Thus, changes identified in the physical world are included into the map within a day, guaranteeing the quality and freshness of the map. 

Mr. Dirk Paetzold, Head of Commercial Vehicles – Cockpit Technologies at Bosch said that Bosch, along with our partners Daimler Truck and HERE, places a high value on the dependability and quality of the Electronic Horizon. Prior to going on sale, the system underwent extensive testing, and it will continue to receive updates in the future. Bosch has been working on developing the Electronic Horizon for the past ten years. When the time comes, the function will verify that the data on the map matches the real state of the road.

Mr. Leen Balcaen, Vice President Product Management SD and HD Maps at HERE Technologies, said that reaching the objectives of societal sustainability requires cooperation. Our collaborative efforts on Predictive Powertrain Control with Bosch and Daimler Truck serve as an excellent illustration of how partners can pool their unique skills to develop solutions that have immediate application. Not only can predictive powertrain control significantly cut CO2 emissions and fuel consumption, but it also makes driving safer and less stressful.