This will not be the first time we have talked about smart trailers at the QuickTSI blog, and likely won\u2019t be the last. Why? Because as they increase in popularity, you can expect to see more of them on the roads. And with the amount of data that can be gleaned from smart trailers, fleets will be quick to adopt. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Yet, problems remain. There are industry standards and\nconnectivity problems that OEMs will need to work out before the trucking\nsector sees widespread smart trailer adoption. Let\u2019s take a deeper look at the\nentrenched issues facing the smart trailer segment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why Smart Trailers?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Smart trailers have almost limitless potential, but\neverything comes at a cost. While the concept is still in its infancy, OEMs\nhave been working hard to resolve unanswered questions. Over the past decade,\ntrailers have gone from nothing more than a warehouse on wheels to vital\nsources of business intelligence and actionable data that can help fleets be\nmore proactive with maintenance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Smart trailers started with the age of IoT devices, sensors,\nvideo, and other advanced technologies and have steadily evolved over time.\nOnce we had gotten into door sensors, cargo sensors, and stability control,\nthere was no going back. Now, the future of the smart trailer is steeped in\nblind spot detection, advanced lighting, back up cameras and communication\nbetween trailers and autonomous vehicles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Beyond the technological aspect, fleets benefit from\ntrailers in other ways. Motor carriers can use smart trailers to shrink their\noverall fleet footprint through improved uptime and more efficient fleet\nutilization. They also benefit from truck drivers increased buy-in because they\nare appreciative for technologies that make their jobs easier. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A Simple Plug Downs the Smart Trailer<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet, smart trailers face a significant problem in something\nas simple as a connector. Thanks to the glacial change of pace of old\ntechnologies, smart trailers are not able to see their full potential. Blame\nthe seven-way J560 connector. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The fact is, the seven-way, as it is called among truckers,\nshould have been retired many, many years ago. Fleets both want and deserve expandability\nway beyond 10 years. As a result, OEMs are already talking about 30-pin\nconnectors. Of course, everyone is trying to come up with a standard that will\nplease everyone, but at least we can move beyond the seven-way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The humble SAE J560 7-pin connector has finally outlived its\nusefulness, and the news couldn\u2019t be more welcome to smart trailer OEMs. Now,\nthe search for a suitable replacement is leading to a potential 30 pins, though\nwe could see something more akin to a 15-pin style, which is used widely across\nEurope. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Fortunately, companies have figured out workarounds to get\naround the archaic pin issue. Some of the features underpinning smart trailers\ncan be handled through telematics systems and wirelessly. Telematics\nspecifically can be used to get around seven pin connectivity problems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Still, that is only a Band-Aid. It is not a permanent\nsolution. Conventional wireless communication is too slow for the demands of\nfuture connectedness. And as autonomous vehicles continue to proliferate alongside\nelectric trucks, there simply needs to be a hi-tech solution, whether wired,\nwireless, or hybrid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cellular Standards Change<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It doesn\u2019t help that all this is happening just as cellular\nproviders are once again shifting to a new cellular standard. We move from 4G\ninto 5G, telematics providers and other players in the space will need to adapt\nto the new paradigm. We could very well see a tractor OEM buying an electronics\ncompany to build their own in-house electronics architecture. Proprietary tech\nis not outside the realm of possibility. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There will need to be comprehensive communication between global manufacturers. Many of the suppliers that will be putting systems onto trailers of the future, particularly braking systems, come from all over the world. They have some ideas of how to solve these problems and will be looking closely at setting their own standards. <\/p>\n\n\n\n [wp_ad_camp_2] <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Still, those working on the braking systems are not the only\nvoices at the table. The people that provide the trailer harnesses and the\ntrailer lighting have some ideas as to how smart trailers can be made smarter.\nThen, of course, add the plethora of telematics suppliers building hardware and\nsoftware in the marketplace. There will be a lot of opinions on what standards\nare right. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Fortunately, the Technology & Maintenance Council has\nalready been hard at work creating these standards. They have now convened two\nnew task forces in the S.7 Trailers, Bodies & Material Handling and S.1\nElectrical study groups. The groups are currently working on a report they\nexpect to be completed at the end of 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is going to be a big job but replacing the 7-pin is critical to ensuring smart trailers do not wind up a forgotten technology. The challenge will be great. Replacing the 7-pin with something that can be expanded, is backwards compatible, can be retrofitted, and meets the needs of shippers, trucking companies<\/a>, and others in the transportation sector is going to be a daunting task.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One Trailer and Many Connections<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Before the smart trailer can reach its full potential, the\nindustry will have to settle on a few core technologies. And they need to do it\nin a concerted fashion. All to often do new technologies and initiatives fail\nbecause OEMS each go in a different direction. There must be open-source\ncollaboration on new technologies, especially where smart trailer standard\nconnections are concerned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n OEMs coming up with new trailer devices are already asking\nthemselves some important questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is highly likely that some type of upgraded wired\nconnection will be necessary to enable two-way communication for cameras and\nvarious other sensing devices. It will be important to connect the tractor\u2019s\ncontroller area network (CAN) and provide room for more wireless connections.\nStill, all this connectivity does not come without its downsides. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Some are of the opinion that not everything needs be wired.\nBut if you do go with more wireless options, you must deal with more battery\npower. Batteries will need to be charged and\/or swapped out over the life of\nthe trailer. but with more wireless\nsensors come more batteries that you\u2019ll need to change out over the life of the\ntrailer. The problem is that trucking companies don\u2019t want to swap out\nbatteries just to fix a broken sensor. There simply needs to be a hybrid model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Hybrid Approach<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Trucking companies will likely have to adopt a hybrid\nwired\/wireless solution as they innovate in the smart truck space. Doing it\nthis way will enable effective and reliable future connectivity between\ntractors and trailers \u2013 while maintaining backward compatibility and future\ngrowth potential. This does not need to all be a pie-in-the-sky dream. The\nproblem is with scale. There are a lot of trailers out there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you look at the numbers put out by the Technology &\nMaintenance Council, there are 6 million trailers in service today. Of those 6\nmillion, approximately 138,000 have some sort of built-in telematic capability\nintegrated into the trailer. Smart trailers will need some kind of\nfutureproofing regarding tractor-trailer communication and anticipated\ntechnological standardization. <\/p>\n\n\n\n