Volvo launches 'auto-pilot' for utility or fleet vehicles

The I-See system uses a truck’s kinetic energy to 'push' the vehicle up hills. On downhill gradients, the same energy is used for acceleration.
Currently, kinetic energy is often dispersed as surplus heat.
Fuel efficiency is an increasingly important part of automotive firm's thinking, as well as emphasis on health and safety, like through fuel tank inspection.
The energy, the mechanical work needed to reduce an object's speed to zero, is produced when an object that is in motion is slowed down. The kinetic energy must be transformed into some other sort of firm of energy.
When a vehicle brakes for example, its kinetic energy is converted into heat. But increasingly, automotive manufacturers are seeking ways to put kinetic energy to good use – instead of releasing it as surplus heat.
"If kinetic energy can be exploited to a greater extent, it may help cut fuel consumption. This will benefit both the environment and the industry's economy, something that is very important today as fuel costs are becoming an increasingly heavy burden on many haulage firms," said Anders Eriksson, product developer at Volvo Trucks.
I-See works by linking to the vehicle transmission's tilt sensor and gets information about the topography digitally.
"I-See is an autopilot linked to the truck’s cruise control, taking over and handling gear-changes, accelerator and brakes on gradients, ensuring they all operate in the most fuel-efficient way possible," said Hayder Wokil, product manager at Volvo Trucks.
As much as possible, I-See freewheels, meaning on some stretches of road no fuel is used at all.
"In this way fuel consumption can be cut by up to five per cent, a figure based on the results of simulations and tests on public roads," Mr Wokil added.
The system is most effective on small hills, accelerating up them and remaining in a high gear for as long as possible before freewheeling on downhills, using the truck's weight as a propulsion motor.