The tests of the oon Platooning-autonomous convoy ”project initiated by Ford Otosan and AVL within the scope of a joint R & D cooperation were carried out on Ford Trucks' new tractor F-MAX. The TIRs were connected to each other using virtual platooning technology and set out as a convoy following each other at close range. Platooning successfully completed the initial test vehicles with Ford Trucks, Ford Otosan and AVL has achieved a first in Turkey.

The first development phase of the Plat Platooning-autonomous convoy Ford project initiated by Ford Otosan and AVL within the scope of joint R & D cooperation was successfully completed. The outputs of the project, which began last year, are expected to reshape truck transport.

Two Ford Trucks tow trucks, which set out in a convoy and autonomous way, successfully covered distances in the first trials. Ford Otosan Eskisehir joined the platooning technology launch held at the Factory Ford Otosan Assistant General Manager Burak GÖKÇELİK and AVL Vice President rolfdreisbach, 'Platooning' technology, the successful cooperation with expressed their happiness about the testing to develop and in Turkey. "Platooning" Technology Product Development, Ford Otosan with Turkey and is being developed in cooperation with AVL's engineering team in Regensburg, Germany.

Gökçelik: ecek Will constitute an important basis for the realization of autonomous transport ”

Ford Otosan Executive Vice President Burak Gökçelik stated that they have left behind a milestone process with AVL on behalf of the use of autonomous driving technology in heavy commercial transportation.

“Last year, we started our studies by combining our forces with AVL and developing“ Platooning - Autonomous Convoy ”technology. Today, we are happy to be one of the few truck manufacturers in the world, working on autonomous trucks, investing in this area and most importantly having a prototype product that can display. We are now testing this technology, which we successfully perform hardware, software and simulation tests on the road. In our country, this project is a first in Turkey will lead to the development of autonomous vehicles. The first stage is completed the R & D collaboration in our project, progress we have made in the field of heavy commercial vehicles, not only in Turkey but all over the world will be a basis for the implementation of the autonomous transport. This R&D project will allow to reduce carbon emissions and fuel consumption, increase road safety and smart transportation. In the later stages of the project and in the long term, we aim to develop “SAE-Level 4” Autonomous driving functions and realize End-to-End (Hub-to-Hub) Autonomous Highway Transportation ”

Stating that all these efforts will increase the competitiveness of the Ford Trucks brand worldwide, Gökçelik said, “As Ford-Otosan, our investments and development activities in the field of autonomous vehicle technologies contribute to our local knowledge of autonomous driving and create an experienced engineer team working on these technologies to create global integration in this field. provides. First priority for us zamThe moment has been to invest in a skilled engineer workforce. Close the fruits of these investments we have made zamWe gathered with F-MAX, which received the '2019 International Truck of the Year Award (ITOY) in Europe. Now, we all see another result of this investment as the progress we have made in autonomous vehicle technologies. "These efforts will definitely increase the competitiveness of Ford Trucks vehicles in the global arena."

Dreisbach: imiz Our cooperation will lead the way in bringing autonomous technologies to heavy commercial vehicles ”

Speaking of the benefits of platooning technology and the operation of the system, AVL Vice President RolfDreisbach said in his assessment:

“Platooning - Autonomous Convoy” project, which brings together two important companies in its sector such as Ford Otosan and AVL, is a project that we are happy to be with with our teams. With the project carried out within the framework of this cooperation, we aim to increase the autonomous driving levels of the vehicles and eventually reach a level that does not even need a driver. Platooning-autonomous convoy technology has benefits such as reducing total cost of ownership and saving fuel. One point to note is the increased safety that can be applied at all levels of autonomous driving. Currently, in the first phase of the project, steering, throttle and brake control have been managed autonomously under highway conditions; But for now the driver needs to follow the road and take control of the vehicle in an unexpected situation. Ultimately, we aim to operate the entire system without the need for driver intervention. This means that the transition to autonomous driving makes transport more cost-effective and safer and is a solution to the driver's shortage.

In contrast to blocking traffic in the platooning mode, the fleet will regulate the flow of traffic and increase the vehicle capacity of highways thanks to the close monitoring of the trucks. In order for non-convoy vehicles to overtake or use motorway exits, vehicles in the convoy will autonomously increase the distance between them and allow vehicles to intervene. In addition, thanks to platooning, vehicles can follow each other very closely and fuel savings can be achieved by reducing the average wind resistance to which they are exposed ”

RolfDreisbach stated that AVL's knowledge of more than 70 years has been used effectively in this project. AVL team in Regensburg in line with global expertise in this function development in the automotive standard, with practical experience in developing autonomous driving functions are the AVL team is also Turkey contributed to this cooperation. It has successfully applied the safe and retractable software development skills that it has perfected in other areas of the automotive industry, as in other autonomous driving technologies. The knowledge and experience gained here will provide active benefits in other project partnerships. ''