By Dave Jaques, director of product management, BlueParrott.
When you’re in the truck technology business – and headset maker GN Audio, which produces the BlueParrott product line for truck drivers, certainly is – you need to always be thinking ahead to what the future may hold for freight transport. To that end, Dave Jaques, BlueParrot’s director of product management, shares some of the trends he sees developing for the industry in the guest column below.
The North American trucking industry has witnessed a lot of change over the last one hundred years. But now, as more drivers are needed, trucking companies large and small must find ways to help their employees do their tough job more efficiently and with fewer burdens. As a result, in 2018, the trucking industry will undergo a lot more changes – with much of its transformation revolving around an increasing the level of innovation within the industry through technological enhancements.
Here are a few technologies that could make a strong impact on the trucking sector in the coming year.
Connecting the Connected Vehicle: Truckers are becoming a more crucial part of the supply chain, thanks to the growth of online shopping. It’s easy to believe that trucks should and need to be armed with technology that can make connecting with e-commerce warehouses easier. As the Internet of Things (IoT) presses further into the truck cab, innovation will move past data collection and begin to more efficiently manage assists and timing to aide in better operational efficiencies. By coordinating data systems to integrate distribution centers and vehicles together, organizations can more effectively manage all resources. This means that trucks will be able to tell a warehouse what is in their load and when they are arriving, which reduces the downtime for vehicles and drivers, and improves efficiency throughout the supply chain.
Customizable Interfaces: In the next few years, vehicles will continue to navigate away from conventional gauges and dials and move more to touch screen panels. The second generation of this implementation will bring about the ability to customize this interface. Imagine moving from vehicle to vehicle, and being able to take your desired format with you. Drivers will no longer be required to learn a new interface, resulting in a more seamless migration to new vehicles. This also simplifies the training process for truckers. It’s one thing to learn how to drive an 18-wheeler, and another to adjust to different personalized settings and systems. Providing truckers with a customizable interface will create a safer environment and make drivers more productive and happier. No one wants to play around with their settings in a car – so why should a driver who bills thousands of miles a year?