Omnitracs partners with Peloton Technology on truck platooning

Fleet management solutions provider Omnitracs has announced a new partnership with Peloton Technology that will make Peloton’s truck platooning systems available to Omnitracs customers. Peloton’s technology synchronizes braking and acceleration between pairs of trucks through the integration of vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications with radar-based collision avoidance systems. This enables the trucks to travel safely at aerodynamic following distances.

According to a statement issued by Omnitracs: “The Peloton system generates 4.5% fuel savings for the lead truck and 10 percent for the follow truck in a two-truck platoon, according to independent testing by the North American Council for Freight Efficiency.

“For the driver of the follow truck, the Peloton system works similarly to adaptive cruise control with the added safety feature of V2V communications to enable automated braking within 0.1 second of braking by the lead truck. The driver of each truck controls steering while the platooning system coordinates speed and distance between the trucks– meeting the definition of SAE Level 1 automated driving.

“Platoons are managed continuously by a cloud-based Network Operations Center that connects to trucks through cellular and Wi-Fi communications. Cloud-based supervision limits operation of platoons to specified roads in safe driving conditions.”