“At WABCO India we recognize that the industry is converging towards autonomous driving and we are at the forefront of providing the essential technologies required to turn this vision into reality. WABCO with its industry-leading innovations will continue to empower tomorrow’s commercial fleets, particularly through real time, on-vehicle and external data connectivity, resulting in improved operating efficiency and better safety performance,” reveals Mr. P. Kaniappan, Managing Director, WABCO India Ltd.
His comments on the subject topic follow, excerpts:
Mandatory and other safety requirements in products
WABCO India has consistently worked towards enhancing vehicle intelligence by improving the safety, efficiency and connectivity of commercial vehicles. The company pioneers in leveraging technological innovation and newer solutions for OEMs and fleet owners. Some of the key products which WABCO India has been focusing on to leverage the safety, efficiency and connectivity of commercial vehicles include:
Anti-lock Braking System (ABS)
WABCO India facilitated introduction of ABS in India by providing ABS testing facility and localizing ABS component manufacturing. ABS is an electronic system that monitors and controls wheel speed during braking. It helps steering control and vehicle stability during braking maneuvers and is engineered to fulfill the braking legislations for commercial vehicles globally. ABS is fitted with OEM friendly modular architecture and a few of its value added features includes – Automatic Traction Control, Hill Start Aid & Electronic Stability Control.
WABCO AMT – OptiDrive™
WABCO OptiDrive™ is a modular transmission automation technology that is easily adaptable to a wide range of existing manual gearboxes. It relieves the driver fatigue of gear shifting operations and ensures appropriate gearing according to the traffic condition thereby resulting in better fuel efficiency of up to five per cent. It easily adapts to existing manual transmissions and significantly reduces development time. With benefits like optimal gear shifts this technology reduces maintenance cost, clutch wear and downtime and enables comfortable, smooth and safe driving.
WABCO Fleet Management Solutions (FMS)
WABCO’s FMS helps to improve the efficiency of fleets by providing accurate vehicle information updates through live tracking and vehicle activity monitoring. It helps to monitor fuel consumption and reduce maintenance costs in addition to improving vehicle utilization and performance. With IP67 protection hardware on the offing blended with USB and Gyro sensor features, FMS provides accurate vehicle information update. It gauges the fuel and driver behavior management and improves vehicle utilization and performance. FMS is a path breaking product in the commercial vehicles segment that is user friendly that offers live monitoring and also reduces fuel consumption and maintenance costs. It supports dashboard analytics at vehicle, fleet and organization level with customized reports. FMS is integrated with cloud based interface and is an android enabled platform.
We are working to integrate our FMS with our other product offerings like Anti Lock Braking System, Automated Manual Transmission, Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, Tire Pressure Monitoring System, and Axle Load Monitoring. Another focus area is integrating a driver behaviour monitoring / alert system which is a camera based solution to monitor driver fatigue and drowsiness. In addition, we are developing a driver distraction alert system by using deep learning concepts. By combining all these product features, WABCO India is in a unique position to offer Intelligent Transport System (ITS) which will improve driver efficiency and enable truck and bus owners to optimize their fleet’s performance.
Our telematics solutions make it possible to communicate across the sensors all over the world. CV segment is headed towards a connected future and WABCO India has developed onboard diagnostics and remote monitoring solutions which guarantee maximum uptime. Predictive maintenance when applied via telematics will help the CV operators in collection of critical data for analysis. Predictive maintenance also identifies the key issues and this data can be made available to provide the necessary feedback to the fleet operators. Telematics has a trigger warning system which alerts the drivers and even points out the location of the nearest service centre. Telematics solutions are offered as an OE fitment and WABCO India emphasizes on the fact that it is a complete solution and adds value to the fleet.
Safety apprehensions at higher road speeds
Recently, Government of India announced that India has the second largest road network across the world pegged at 4.7 million km. This road network transports more than 60 per cent of all goods in the country and 85 per cent of India’s total passenger traffic. Bus and trucks are major contributors to the road transportation. Road transportation has gradually increased over the years with the improvement in connectivity between cities, towns and villages in the country. The construction of highways and the last mile connectivity has reached an all-time high of 6,029 km during FY 2015-16, and the increased pace of construction is expected to continue for the coming years.
WABCO India has increasingly developed products to enhance the safety of commercial vehicles and to ensure the safety of the drivers. Government of India’s initiative to cut down mishaps on Indian roads includes stringent norms for vehicle safety which has provided ample impetus to the growth of safety aspect in the vehicles in our country. Technological advancements which include compact design and inter-connected components, lighter brake systems, better vehicle response time among other factors have also contributed to the increased adoption of safety measures in commercial vehicles.
Light-weighting necessity and trend
WABCO offers PAN range of Air Disc Brakes (ADB) for commercial vehicles which not only improves the braking performance of the vehicle but also offers significant weight reduction. WABCO’s PAN range of Air Disc Brakes adapts patented single piston technology with optimized construction that helps to reduce weight by upto 25 kg per wheel for Heavy Duty vehicles. WABCO’s PAN range of ADBs are the lightest in weight as compared to competition. To help Indian OE customers to introduce air disc brakes on more of their models. WABCO India localizes ADB in India to make it cost competitive.
WABCO’s door control system MTS2 is a modular door control system for buses. MTS2 system is an ECU based door control system loaded with all safety features that meets global and Indian regulations. The system has lesser parts using one door control valve which is integrated with all features. This reduces the number of joints thereby, eliminating air leakage in the system, which in turn helps to reduce air compressor duty cycle.
WABCO has developed and introduced a new range of Air processing system called Air Processing and Distribution Assembly (APDA). This comprises of one device which does the function of Oil Separation, Drying, Regeneration, Pressure regulation and Distribution of air to the brake system of the vehicle. As compared to the Drying and Distribution unit (DDU) offered today by WABCO for Air processing, APDA comes with added features without increasing the weight. The system is more compact and offers robust performance across all vehicle platforms. It also has the option of additional filters called Air System Protector (ASP) filters that helps to completely remove oil / aerosoll content from compressed air delivered to the brake system.