The FINANCIAL — Why not make the most of the truck’s kinetic energy to save fuel? That’s what Scania’s new Pulse & Glide functionality does – even on flat road stretches.
According to Volkswagen AG, connectivity has changed the conditions for long haulage transport radically. In recent years, a number of new efficiency-boosting services and functions have been launched thanks to the new technology.
An example is the new, smart cruise control Scania Active Prediction that was launched in 2012. The system uses topographical map data and GPS technology to determine the characteristics of the road three kilometres ahead.
But Scania’s engineers didn’t stop there. Fredrik Roos and colleague Mikael Ögren formed a team that continued the development. The team focused on the algorithms that calculate how the vehicle’s kinetic energy can be used to eco-roll with the gears in neutral.
The result of the team’s efforts, Pulse & Glide, was launched in 2017, adding new functionality to Scania Cruise Control with Active Prediction (CCAP). In the latest version of CCAP, eco-roll can be used even on gradients that under normal circumstances are not steep enough to maintain speed.
Longer time for eco-roll
According to Fredrik Roos, the complete active prediction system’s potential is best realized when driving truck and trailer combinations between 20 and 40 tons in hilly terrain and relatively light traffic. But Scania’s new system with Pulse & Glide has proved its worth also on flat road stretches, with a total fuel saving of 1.5 percent compared to a standard cruise control.
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