Aptiv showcased a range of integrated sensor and safety technologies for commercial vehicles at IAA Transportation 2026. The goal is to help reduce accidents while also easing the shift toward software-defined vehicles.
Commercial vehicles are big and heavy, which makes them risky on the road. Because of this, safety remains a top priority for OEMs. Many carmakers have committed to zero-fatality targets. “Aptiv positioned itself as a leader here, that no other supplier equips commercial vehicles with as many sensing capabilities. The company combines radar and camera technology, choosing the right mix based on cost and use case. This helps it serve different types of OEMs, from those who just want to meet basic safety rules to those aiming for full self-driving in the future,” Mr. Ronald Jesorsky, Marketing Director, Aptiv, told this publication.
A live demo truck at the show showed off this technology in action. It included a surround-view monitoring system that gives drivers a bird’s-eye view around the vehicle. This is especially useful in busy, tight city streets, where manoeuvring a large truck safely is much harder than on open highways.
Aptiv also showed driver-monitoring technology inside the cabin. Truck drivers often spend long hours on the road, which can lead to fatigue. Phones and infotainment systems can distract them further. Aptiv’s camera-based system keeps watch on whether the driver stays alert. It can even detect small tricks, like tucking a seatbelt behind the back to disable an alert, and flags it right away, he explained.
Another shift the company is addressing is the move from physical mirrors to digital ones. Many trucks now use camera-based e-mirrors instead of traditional side mirrors. Normally, this means installing a separate driver-monitoring camera and a separate mirror screen. Aptiv has combined both into a single unit. This saves space and makes vehicle design simpler.
On software, more OEMs are shifting from older vehicle systems to newer software-defined ones. Many already have plans in place, but putting those plans into action is hard. To help, Aptiv offers computing solutions that centralise processing power, even onto a single chip. At the same time, it lets OEMs choose from different chip options instead of locking them into one. Aptiv also provides a software platform that helps speed up this shift. This includes built-in tools that quickly find the source of software bugs. In turn, this helps OEMs finish development faster and bring new vehicles to market sooner, he added.