Volvo Trucks North America (VTNA) and its sibling company Mack Trucks are set to revolutionize the trucking industry by allowing drivers to perform software updates over-the-air (OTA) from their cabs. This move is a significant step towards reducing downtime and increasing operational efficiency.
Starting in late 2020, fleet managers will be able to approve changes, which can then be instantly activated by the driver via a simple screen icon on the truck’s instrument panel for an array of functions including engine performance tweaks, transmission adjustments, and diesel post-treatment improvements.
Conal Deedy, VTNA’s director of commercial telematics solutions, emphasizes that staying current with software updates not only reduces failure codes but also enhances fuel efficiency, lowers environmental impact, and slashes operational costs. Drivers can now configure parameters like maximum road speed or switch the engine to an eco-friendly mode from their cab’s on/off position.
David Pardue, vice president of connected vehicles and contractual services at Mack Trucks, highlights that most updates take less than 15 minutes to complete once initiated by the driver. The company’s OTA service, called Mack Over The Air, uses its integrated telematics system GuardDog Connect for remote reprogramming.
Mack is already selling packages of up to 50 in-cab software updates per year for trucks manufactured since 2018. Before this offering, customers were limited to just two parameter adjustments annually as part of their uptime subscription plan. This shift marks a significant improvement in flexibility and convenience for fleet operators.
Competitors like Daimler Trucks North America have been providing similar OTA services through their Detroit Connect platform since 2018, enabling fleets to remotely control cruise speeds and idle shutdowns based on environmental conditions along with other critical parameters. But the ability of drivers themselves to push these updates represents a step forward in user empowerment.
