November 19, 2014 Vol. 11 No. 24

It’s been quite a while since I’ve been able to write about Caterpillar, but now there’s a new vocational truck on the scene: the Cat CT681. It’s a set-forward-axle model to join the set-back CT660 that was launched in the spring of 2011 and went into full production that fall. I drove that one back then and was well pleased by pretty much everything about it. The new truck should be no different. It’s meant for operators who want a longer wheelbase and for those who have to comply with restrictive load limitations on bridges and roads.

Let me put this in historical context. Briefly, I promise, though an awful lot could be written.

When yellow engines left the on-highway trucking scene several years ago, an era ended and a sizeable gap appeared. It was a tumultuous time for truck and engine makers, and not an especially happy time for Cat, nor for Navistar, both of whom found themselves on the wrong side of the engine-emissions technology game. The two ‘outsiders’ formed a bond in 2008, the key part of it being the surprising announcement that Caterpillar would build a truck of its own. Or at least design it and contract Navistar to build it. Built on a base of the International PayStar, it would be powered by that company’s 11- and 13-liter MaxxForce engines, rebadged and painted yellow, first with what was called ‘Advanced EGR’ emission controls.

Caterpillar’s bold entry into the on-highway truck fray was also to have a 15-liter engine, the CT15, which was going to be half and half Cat and International. The former’s long proven 15-liter motor was to supply the block, while Navistar would provide the top end including fuel, air, and exhaust management. In fact the two companies had long been working together on engine componentry, notably fuel systems, so this was no real surprise. Some were built, I believe, but then the EGR idea was abandoned and that killed further CT15 development.

The new CT681 is powered only by the CT13, with selective catalytic reduction or SCR, and at this point there’s no sign of a bigger engine. Actually 12.5 liters in displacement, it offers horsepower ratings from 365 to 430 at 1700 rpm and torque ratings from 1250 to 1550 lb ft, with the peak at a usefully low 1000 rpm. A compacted-graphite-iron block, designed for durability, reduces weight by as much as 200 lb compared to standard iron.

A single electronic control module and fewer electrical connections help reduce diagnostic and maintenance time, says Cat, and a fluid-free head gasket eliminates the risk of coolant leaking into engine oil or exhaust gases entering the cooling system.

Matched with the engine is the optional Cat CX31 automatic transmission, not well known but by all accounts a solid performer in global vocational applications since 2004. It has six forward speeds and one reverse, and of course it’s designed to complement the torque output of the CT13.

It’s claimed to feature the industry’s highest power-to-weight ratio, with full-power shifting. There are two side PTO locations and a Cat-exclusive rear PTO.
Other transmission options for the CT681 include a variety of Eaton manual transmissions and the Ultrashift Plus automated manual.

THE CT66O WAS MUCH BETTER LOOKING than I expected, I wrote back in 2011, and I think the new truck is more attractive still. That first Cat also seemed much less like the International PayStar than I figured it might be. Cat actually called the latter a “donor” truck, saying that pretty much the only thing that hadn’t been replaced or extensively modified was the PayStar’s frame.

Almost everything above that frame was new, but even some chassis components were re-designed. The pitman arms, for instance, are unique to the CT660/CT681, and the steering system at large was new. The aluminum-alloy cab, derived from the PayStar but bearing little resemblance to it inside, is also essentially unique to Cat. Among the useful improvements are piano-style door hinges. Also new are the cab mount and tuned air suspension, as well as the “optimized” rear engine mount, all of which contribute to creating a quiet driver environment and smooth ride. The cab structure is generally more rugged, with well sealed doors. Mirrors are cowl-mounted, not on the door, to reduce vibration.

The cab felt spacious to me and its ‘industrial’ styling seems right. Premium-grade sound insulation and tight-fitting components and trim also help to deliver a quiet ride, Cat promises.

That tight fit was something I remarked on back in 2011, along with the wide door opening.

In terms of safety, the CT681 offers a great view of the road, thanks to a curved, sloped, wraparound windshield in a one- or two-piece design. You also get sealed-beam halogen headlights and LED park/turn lights, plus those large, heated mirrors with integrated turn signals.

Like the CT660, it’s backed by bumper-to-bumper service at more than 400 Cat dealer locations with over 2300 service bays in North America.

CATERPILLAR’S EXTENSIVE TESTING of the CT681 with North American customers was done as part of its “field follow” program — said to be the equivalent of more than three years of heavy truck use. Applications included snow plow, concrete mixer, dump and super dump.

That process provides a crucial feedback loop between customers and the vocational truck product team, says Cat, identifying any required changes to design.

Another selling point for the CT681 is standard equipment, namely Product Link, a proprietary Cat telematics system that collects data from on-board systems and transmits it via satellite and cellular networks to a secure Internet site. Using Product Link and its easy-to-use web interface, VisionLink, truck owners and fleet managers can access accurate, timely data about how, when, and where trucks are being used. Such information means that users can make fact-based decisions to help reduce costs and enhance productivity.

A key option on the CT681 is the Bendix Tire Pressure Monitoring System.

It’s good to have Caterpillar back in these digital pages.

DETROIT ASSURANCE MAKES ITS DEBUT. I had to miss this one, when Daimler Trucks North America hosted a ride-and-drive event in Miami a week or so ago to show off its new active vehicle safety suite. It includes Active Brake Assist (ABA) or collision mitigation and Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) to maintain a safe following distance from the vehicle ahead. Customers also have the option of adding a lane-departure warning system.

Since I wasn’t there but my colleague Jim Park was, I’ll let him tell the tale from here, slightly edited.

The functionality is not new to North America. Several third-party systems are already widely deployed and some are available on the company’s class 8 trucks. They work well, says Brad Williamson, manager of powertrain marketing for DTNA, but he claims the level of integration capable with its proprietary system goes beyond what an add-on system can deliver. He also notes that similar systems have been in place in Mercedes Benz cars for better than two decades, and on Daimler trucks in Europe for more than 10 years. That said, all the software, all the logic, and all the algorithms with this system are proprietary to DTNA.

THE SYSTEM USES RADAR PULSES to detect metallic objects ahead of the truck. It can track up to 40 objects up to 660 ft away, DTNA says, while the Video Radar Decision Unit refreshes its speed, distance, and time calculations 200 times per second. Data from these two sources feed the ABA and ACC functions. The optional windshield-mounted camera supplies information to the lane-departure warning.

The ABA system will intervene under two conditions: if it determines a collision is likely, and to slow the truck if a pre-set following distance is compromised.

Depending on the degree of urgency, the system may simply throttle back and reduce vehicle speed to compensate for the narrower following distance, in which case the driver may not even notice the intervention. Or under more dire circumstances, the system will apply up to 100% of the trucks service brake capacity in order to slow the vehicle and mitigate the possible damage arising from a collision.

The driver gets a three-tiered alert sequence beginning with an audio and visual warning that the system has detected a potential conflict. The system will mute the radio (if it’s on) and sound a buzzer while displaying “collision warning” on the integrated dash-mounted driver information display.

Should that fail to get the driver to initiate braking, the ABA system will partially apply the engine brake and service brakes to warn the driver to respond. The next step sees the ABA take command, using the transmission, engine brake, and service brakes to slow the truck safely.

Depending on the dynamics of the situation, this sequence could take place over the span of a few seconds or almost instantly. If the driver responds quickly or the situation that caused the alert is disappears, the warning and braking sequence stops immediately.

WHEN THE DRIVER HAS THE ACC SET to a certain speed, the truck will maintain that speed under normal conditions. The factory-default following distance is set to 3.5 seconds, but an optional headway switch allows the driver to adjust the following distance anywhere from 2.3 to 3.5 seconds in one-third-second increments. ACC is active any time the cruise control is engaged.

ACC uses the radar and the camera system to detect metallic objects ahead of the truck and will adjust the vehicle speed in order to maintain the preset following distance. For example, while cruising at 105 km/h, if the truck comes up on a vehicle moving at 90, the system will de-throttle the engine to reduce speed in order to maintain the preset gap. In cases where the speed delta is small and the distance between vehicles is good, the driver may not even notice the deceleration. In a more urgent situation, the system would engage the engine brake and possibly even the service brakes to slow the truck.

In situations where a vehicle cuts in front of the truck well inside of the preset following distance but is accelerating, nothing happens. If that vehicle slows, the response from Detroit Assurance can be quite dramatic.

ABA AND ACC FUNCTION independently but together they provide a measure of safety as well as driver convenience and even fuel efficiency. Because the system maintains a set following distance, the truck will follow a leading vehicle at any speed at a safe distance. The real benefit to this is driver convenience and fuel economy.

Williamson says you can probably drive 600 km without ever having to touch the brake or the accelerator. And of course the less braking and accelerating you do, the better the fuel economy.

An optional camera system provides lane-departure warnings using audio and visual indicators to notify the driver if he or she has unintentionally left the lane. The camera detects reflective paint on the road, and when it detects trouble, the radio will mute and the driver gets an audible warning inside the cab from the side of the truck where the crossover happened.

The driver can disable this system with a switch on the dash while driving in conditions that may cause false warnings, such as construction zones and roads with tight curves. The disable feature will remain active for at least 15 minutes or until the truck exceeds 79 kmh.

Detroit Assurance is offered in Freightliner Cascadia Evolution and Cascadia trucks equipped with Detroit engines. You can spec it with Eaton manual transmissions, but you only get full functionality with Detroit’s DT12 transmission.

BENDIX PLANS TO LAUNCH the next generation of its active safety technologies next year, introducing stationary vehicle braking and other functions currently not available in North America. The company says we’ll see significantly enhanced performance of its existing systems through stronger, deeper integration and upgraded components. It also promises to deliver alert prioritization and a significant reduction of false alerts that sometimes can be apparent in single-sensor systems.

Bendix has been demonstrating the system for several fleets and is currently road-testing the technologies with major truck makers.

The next-gen system builds on the Bendix ESP Electronic Stability Program full-stability system, the Wingman Advanced collision mitigation technology, and AutoVue lane departure warning (LDW) system from Bendix CVS. Bendix ESP addresses both roll and directional stability through sensors that recognize and mitigate conditions that could lead to rollover and loss-of-control. Wingman Advanced uses a radar sensor mounted to the front of a vehicle to provide active cruise control with braking features, along with collision mitigation technology that delivers both warnings and active interventions to help drivers potentially avoid rear-end collisions or at least help reduce their severity. AutoVue links a camera with a wide field of view to an on-board ECU that uses image recognition software to track visible lane markings and detects when the vehicle begins to drift toward an unintended lane change.

The next-generation active safety system will also offer real “one-stop shopping” convenience with an all-inclusive, better performing safety option provided and supported by a single manufacturer, the company says.

Bendix says its next generation of active safety upgrades and fuses three component technologies – camera, radar, and brakes – with what it calls “groundbreaking results.”

When these systems are fully integrated – ‘talking’ directly to each other, in a sense, with multiple sensors confirming situational data – you get far more robust decision-making in the system as a whole, Bendix says. That means more effective alert prioritization and a substantial reduction of false alerts. And this sensor data fusion is also crucial to unlocking new safety capabilities like stationary vehicle braking, the company adds.

Stationary vehicle braking is a technological step forward from the stationary object alerts of Wingman Advanced. Currently, the stationary object alert function gives the driver a warning only, of up to 3.0 seconds, when a large metallic in-lane object is blocking the lane of travel. The stationary vehicle braking function – part of the next-generation technology – not only delivers the warning, with more alert time available, but also can apply the brakes if the system recognizes the metallic object as a vehicle.

To make this possible, Bendix has adapted technology powered by the Mobileye System-on-Chip EyeQ2 processor with advanced object detection algorithms.

This merely scratches the surface of what’s coming, Bendix teases, saying other improvements and new capabilities will be announced as next year’s launch date nears.

The new system will also integrate with SafetyDirect, the company’s a user-friendly Web portal that provides fleet operators with videos of severe events, along with comprehensive feedback on their trucks and drivers. The system wirelessly transmits real-time driver performance data and event-based information – including videos – to the fleet’s back office for analysis by fleet safety personnel.