WABCO innovation wins two big awards

Trucking WABCOROME, ITALY-The drive-train, stability, braking and suspension innovators at WABCO have just won two prestigious awards from CLEPA, the European Association of Automotive Suppliers. The event was held this week in Rome. CLEPA has more than 100 member companies and over 20 national as well as European trade associations.

One award is for the corporation’s joint development project, with ZF, on a breakthrough collision-avoidance system called the Evasive Maneuver Assist (EMA) which, for the first time, connects both active braking and active steering to help avoid rear-end collisions.

The other is for WABCO’s OptiFlow AutoTail, an industry-leading, aerodynamic solution that was launched in North America earlier this year. AutoTail features an industry-first technology with automatic deployment and retraction. The system helps reduce commercial vehicle fuel consumption and emissions.

CLEPA’s international jury of industry experts recognized WABCO’s OptiFlow AutoTail in the Environment category. Assessing 56 applications from 31 companies across Europe, the panel of judges ranked all technology innovations based on the following criteria: ambition, market relevance, impact, and quality.

“Protecting the environment is of the utmost importance to the global transportation industry,” said Roberto Vavassori, President, CLEPA. “The jury recognized WABCO’s aerodynamic AutoTail since this innovative technology helps to reduce emissions of commercial vehicles while further lowering the total cost of transportation.”

The device opens and retracts tail panels based on driving speed as determined by sensors linked to WABCO’s braking systems for trailers. The device automatically deploys at vehicle speeds of 75 km/h ensuring it is consistently used at speeds that maximize aerodynamic fuel savings. The tail panels automatically retract at a vehicle speed of 15 km/h. According to a statement from WABCO, OptiFlow AutoTail delivers fuel savings in Europe of up to 1.1 liters per 100km at highway speeds, and reduces CO₂emissions by up to 2.8 tons per trailer per year

trucking wabcoThe Evasive Maneuver Assist (EMA) was awarded in the Safety and Cooperation Category.

“When speaking about mobility, road safety is rightly at the top of the political and technological agendas,” said Roberto Vavassori, President, CLEPA. “The innovation presented by WABCO and ZF proves that road safety goes way beyond cars and motorcycles to include commercial vehicles. It also demonstrates that cooperation between automotive suppliers can pave the way to success and better mobility for all.”

EMA connects WABCO’s braking and stability control systems with ZF’s active steering solution for the first time, realizing another critical step toward autonomous driving in the commercial vehicle industry.”

Demonstrated for the first time in June 2016, Evasive Maneuver Assist leverages the capabilities of WABCO’s industry-leading OnGuardACTIVE, its most advanced, radar-only collision mitigation system. A radar sensor identifies moving or stationary vehicles ahead and alerts the driver via visual, audio and haptic signals of impending rear-end collisions. Should the driver determine that the system cannot avoid a rear-end collision by driver-initiated or autonomous braking alone, Evasive Maneuver Assist engages to help the driver to safely steer around an obstructing vehicle and to bring truck and trailer to a complete and safe stop. In such situations, EMA’s collision avoidance function is connecting WABCO’s proven electronic braking system (EBS), advanced emergency braking system (AEBS), electronic stability control (ESC) and vehicle dynamics control systems to ZF’s electrohydraulic ReAX power steering system.

 

 

 


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