Volvo I-Torque wins truck writers award
Summary
The annual award spotlights currently available products or services that show innovation, technical excellence, wide applicability, and real benefits for commercial truck operators, the writers group said. Meanwhile, the system’s electronic controls use real-time map-based data and GPS positioning to manage speed and gear shifting while ascending and descending grades. It’s a great fuel-efficiency tool.” The I-Torque Powertrain was one of five finalists chosen from an initial list of 16 products suggested by the truck writers group, according to Tom Berg, who headed the nine-member judges panel. The other four nominees were: • Detroit Assurance 5.0 system – Electronic safety devices that help the driver keep a truck in its lane and under control to avoid and mitigate collisions; • Grote 4See Smart Trailer System -- Hardware and software that brings together all the independent electric and electronic equipment into a common communication stream, without increasing the harness or hardware required on a trailer; • Phillips Connect Smart 7 nosebox (in three versions) -- Advanced cellular gateways, GPS trackers, and sensor hubs that pinpoint and transmit trailer location, status, and critical conditions to the cloud; and • PlusDrive autonomous truck retrofit system -- Converts an existing trucks into semi-autonomous operation using lidar, radar and cameras with autonomous driving software. “We truck writers have been giving this award every year since 1991, except in 2021 when the COVID pandemic interrupted life in general,” said Berg, a freelancer who writes for Land Line and Construction Equipment magazines.