‘So to Speak’ with Dhiyanesh Ravichandran
The 2019 Mercedes-Benz Actros is the pragmatic epitome of the ‘next-generation’ truck that we would like to imagine today. Yeah, it’s already here.
You must have come across our cover story of this issue (refer “Gone a million, Undefeated”, Page 30), a first-hand taste of Daimler Trucks’ reliability in India. Cut to contemporary Europe a bit, Mercedes-Benz brought out the ‘New’ Actros at IAA Commercial Vehicles Show in late September this year. Don’t let the mesmerising five-slat grille with the vivid three-pointed star logo fool you by suggesting that nothing much have changed. Everything has changed – the way we saw the periphery of the road from the driver seat, and the pride we took in believing driving as an art fully dependent on our skills and senses!
Take a closer look, Merc has done away with the conventional side mirrors and replaced them with what they call as ‘MirrorCam’ system. You instead find a 15-inch vertical video screen mounted on both the A-pillars inside the cabin, displaying the side view with overlaid handy markers to aid the driver. Wide-angle vision is available, while safe distance for overtaking with the length of the trailer is earmarked. Even night vision is of great clarity.
But what was more storming inside my mind was the improvement of up to 1.3 percent in fuel economy owing to reduced drag due to absence of wing mirrors, and that the replacement cost is “not significantly more” than a traditional mirror assembly! Hence, the MirrorCam is a standard fitment for all New Actros.
Okay, what more you may wonder. A multi-media cockpit has succeeded the tradition analogue dashboard layout. Two interactive display boards, one behind the steering wheel and the other over the centre console, amid plain dashboard otherwise makes one wonder whether this is a truck or spacecraft vessels from Star Trek series! The latter screen does all utility jobs, from access to all vehicular and in-cabin controls to top-class infotainment supporting Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Mercedes calls the New Actros as “smartphone on wheels”, although there are enough safeguards to prevent all ‘phoney’ distractions while on the wheels I presume. Oh wait…
That’s not all, the partial automation feature of the new truck made me raise my eyebrows. The ‘Active Drive Assist’ technology in the New Actros is indeed the industry-first semi-autonomous driving system ever offered in a road-going truck. It conforms to Level 2 automation standards, which means the truck can take over acceleration, braking, and steering. Although the driver can’t escape his responsibility, sensors in steering column and driver seat will warn the driver if he/she attempts to vacate while on the move.
In addition, the ADA engages a host of other driver assistance systems including ‘Lane Keeping Assist’ ‘Active Brake Assist’, ‘Sideguard Assist’ and ‘Predictive Powertrain Control’ that uses satellite-based location systems, maps, and topography data to determine efficient driving style on its own. This exemplary synergy of technologies on-board has made the New Actros to deliver a fuel saving of up to five per cent than the outgoing models.
Maybe hard to believe, but automation is here already. Now cut back to India, it may take years for these technologies to reach Indian market, ironically many of those techs from first-gen Actros launched two decades back in Europe have not reached our shores yet. Or could it be sweepingly quick in no time?