Technology

AI Is Future of Trucking, Startup Founders Say

December 15, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Artificial intelligence continues to make waves across the industry, becoming a huge hope for trucking companies and the public alike when it comes to the future of roadway safety.

Now, AI Fleet, a trucking company startup based out of Austin, Texas, is prioritizing the utilization of artificial intelligence tech and bringing on drivers that it feels will be able to make a progressive difference in the industry as a whole.

“Our mission is to make truck driving better,” said AI Fleet’s CEO, Mark El Khoury. “That means better for the drivers, better for our customers, and better for the overall nation. Today, the driver shortage is really nothing but a symptom of how poorly-utilized drivers are.”

El Khoury co-founded AI Fleet last year after leaving a prominent role as a consultant within the trucking world; his new company focuses upon AI technology to boost efficiency and circumvent regular trucking industry challenges.

According to El Khoury, trucking has been focused upon customers and shippers since its beginnings–instead of prioritizing the drivers that push the industry forward. Because of this, the overall truck driver shortage has been as serious as ever, with more and more truckers making the decision to leave the industry for good.

“Our current drivers–overall in the U.S.–are unhappy that they’re not making enough money.” he explained. “Clearly, that’s the problem that we have to solve.”

AI Fleet’s software can choose hauls for truckers by taking into account what will bring in the most money for a driver and his or her company, in addition to considering what route will be best for the driver, specifically. Downtime is also shortened with this system as the technology can alert drivers of all aspects surrounding their next shipment even before they complete the current haul. This is possible through a variety of back-office efforts on top of automated shipment planning and acceptance.

“A driver journey starts when a driver is available,” said El Khoury. “They usually drive empty miles to pick up their load, but once they arrive to pick up their load, they usually have to wait for their appointment. Once they get to their appointment, [they] have to wait to get loaded.”

El Khoury noted that all of this waiting time points to efficiency shortcomings in the truck driver hauling process itself.

“After you’re loaded to drive to your destination…you have to wait to get unloaded, and then you have to wait to get assigned for [the] next load,” he continued. “Every time I said ‘wait’…is actually an inefficiency in the driver journey.”

These problems are ultimately avoidable, El Khoury said–all a company needs to do is implement and employ certain kinds of innovative technology.

“Where our technology comes into play–it’s helping us make better decisions by being able to review those billions of options and then assigning loads to drivers in a way to maximize driver utilization,” he explained.

This has been a largely vacant space in the trucking sector, El Khoury noted, saying that the AI Fleet team quickly concluded that the best way to become a major player in the industry would be to find a way for technology to truly benefit the everyday operations of a trucking company. Typically, these companies are not the best software consumers, so solely selling software products to fleets was not considered to be the most lucrative choice.

“We basically ended up starting a trucking company from scratch,” he said. “We use technology to replace a big chunk of our operations. Instead of helping humans do a better job as many trucking companies do, the AI technology is the brain behind making decisions.”

Additionally, AI Fleet wants to bring a strong focus to overall care for truck drivers, encouraging truckers to go home at least once a week and offering health care, paid time off, and a guaranteed salary. Nearly two-thirds of AI Fleet’s recent hires have been through referrals, El Khoury added.

“Trucking is not scalable today,” he said. “This driver utilization problem means that large trucking companies, at some point, say, “You know what? If we keep growing or [out] utilization is already low…it’s going to potentially get worse.”

Now, AI Fleet hopes to soon become the most prominent trucking company in the country.

“We are hoping to show that through a different business model and through technology, we can build a scale with trucking companies,” said El Khoury.

Cyberattacks Become Looming Threat to Public Safety, Industry Leaders Step In

December 13, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

When we think of safety in the transportation industry, we may overlook one very important factor in keeping transportation as safe as possible–cybersecurity.

After a recent cyberattack on a large petroleum pipeline, the U.S. House of Representatives’ transportation committee is pushing for boosted insight regarding such cybersecurity operations. Chairman Peter DeFazio of Oregon told stakeholders at a Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing that cybersecurity improvements are imperative, and increasing oversight throughout transportation network cybersecurity–particularly within rail, aviation, and transit–should be prioritized now.

“I understand [the Transportation Security Administration] intends to issue a security directive for passenger rail, high-risk freight rail, and the transit sector,” he said while members discussed TSA’s cybersecurity guidelines. “For those that care about the public’s safety and the nation’s economic and national security, these efforts–in both the public and private sectors–should not be controversial.”

This kind of security needs to be taken much more seriously, DeFazio added, noting that public safety relies on keeping these sectors secure.

“The public’s safety and the nation’s security depend on these systems,” he continued. “While no single change can prevent every cyberattack, we need to raise the bar significantly and make cyberattacks on our systems much more difficult to accomplish.”

Additionally, TSA should welcome further stakeholder and public input regarding the creation of any new pipeline cybersecurity regulations, noted Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee ranking member Representative Rick Crawford of Arkansas.

“We’re considering all of our options, including the most transparent option,” said deputy assistant administrator for policy, plans, and engagement at TSA, Victoria Newhouse, who added that this kind of input will help TSA to develop cybersecurity policies in the future. “As we have continued robust engagement, both at the classified and unclassified [levels], with all of our surface transportation stakeholders, in particular our pipeline, rail–freight rail, passenger rail–and aviation stakeholders, we’re considering all of those options.”

U.S. Department of Transportation agencies are also working together to find methods of avoiding cyberattacks like that of the Colonial Pipeline.

“We’ll continue to improve our existing systems to make them more secure, while they continue to operate, so that they resiliently support DOT’s operations and the American people,” said USDOT chief information officer Cordell Schachter. “We will also meet the challenge of continuously improving the cybersecurity of DOT information technology systems while keeping these systems available for use. We look forward to working with this committee, our agency partners, and the White House to strengthen and protect our infrastructure and systems.”

These collaborative efforts didn’t take long to bring actionable steps to fruition, as major freight and passenger railroads will now be required to report any cybersecurity breaches promptly and to regularly review their cyberattack vulnerability, as part of the Biden administration’s efforts to urge the private sector to further protect national infrastructure from hackers.

This new mandate was announced earlier this month by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and will come into full effect on December 31st of this year.

“These new cybersecurity requirements and recommendations will help keep the traveling public safe and protect our critical infrastructure from evolving threats,” said Alejandro Mayorkas, Homeland Security Secretary. “DHS will continue working with our partners across every level of government and in the private sector to increase the resilience of our critical infrastructure nationwide.”

This new requirement will call for a designated cybersecurity coordinator for most railroads, who will need to conduct vulnerability assessments, create incident-response plans, and report any hacking-related incidents within 24 hours. Congress has given authority to the government to issue previous notice-and-comment period-bypassing directives for federal regulations. Additionally, TSA has recently required airport and airline operators to also designate a cybersecurity coordinator and report all cybersecurity incidents and issues to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

“The federal government should be part of the solution,” said Commerce Committee Chairwoman Maria Cantwell of these new regulations, adding that there is still an economic threat looming with future potential cyberattacks. “We need to bring about critical infrastructure investments in technology that can help the electricity grid and companies secure their networks from these kinds of intrusions.”

Battery Issues Change Along With Surge of Trucking Technology

October 1, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Truck batteries are changing just as rapidly as other innovative technology swiftly makes its way throughout the trucking industry, and certain vehicle types are seeing battery-related needs shifting particularly quickly.

According to industry experts who spoke at the American Trucking Association’s 2021 Technology and Maintenance Council Fall Meeting and Transportation Technology Exhibition this month, Class 6 and Class 8 vehicles have been seeing major adjustments in regards to the methods of prolonging their truck battery lifespans.

“There are more loads and accessories today than ever before,” said East Penn Manufacturing’s original equipment sales director, Jeff Muir. “All these loads and accessories require additional power requirements. Those power requirements are being drawn off the batteries.”

In fact, many truck drivers will utilize a large amount of battery power during the rest breaks–especially when they sleep in their cabs. This act, called ‘hoteling,’ allows for the use of television power, laptop power, microwave or crock pot usage, and even the powering of a gaming system.

“Essentially, the drivers and the operators really want all the creature comforts of home, packed into a sleeper cab and [to] be able to use those with a definitive amount of power,” Muir continued. “They don’t want to go in a dark room or have their truck fail to start because they ran out of battery power.”

Because of this, the industry’s mindset regarding truck battery capabilities is changing rapidly, and further research is underway to determine the best methods of boosting these batteries to offer dual functionality for today’s truckers, Muir noted.

“That operator is essentially using all the power that’s in the battery pack and then during their next drive cycle, [so] they have to be able to recoup that power, that energy, and repeat that cycle over and over again,” he said. “That energy recuperation is the biggest opportunity because we don’t want to see the battery packs operate in a partial state of charge.”

Trucks are seeing more and more modern technology and digitalization become implemented within their trucks’ interconnectivity and telematics systems, Muir said–trends that will continue to expand. Still, though, drivers can help to boost their batteries’ functionality and longevity through a variety of tried-and-true technical solutions, according to industry experts.

“How deeply do you discharge the battery over and over again? How [promptly] do you recharge it back?” added East Penn’s senior application engineer, Mike Krajewski. “The main goal is you try to get the longest calendar life by using the best cycle life.”

Cycle and calendar lives are the two main timespans one should consider in regards to their trucking battery, as a cycle life is determined by regular improvements, care, and the ways in which a battery is used.

In addition to these two life cycles, there are four aspects of overall truck battery care that affect its longevity, Krajewski explained.

“[The factors] are care and maintenance, partial state of charge, and temperature,” he said. “These four big components, if you manage them correctly, can greatly increase the life of the battery you see in the truck, or if they’re managed improperly, it can drastically decrease [the battery life].”

Additionally, a battery’s lifespan can be majorly affected by hot temperatures, as well as by failure to maintain a partial charge in a battery or otherwise care for it properly.

“The most common thing that we see out there in the industry today, from a warranty perspective, is batteries that are discharged,’ said East Penn’s field sales support manager for original equipment, John Cathey. “I think, many times, as we think about batteries, we think this battery is empty and it’s going to take too much time to fill, and so [we] will simply just put another battery that’s new in its place.”

Instead of this, drivers and fleet managers should look to the root of the problem, because oftentimes, the battery can be easily restored or it may just need to be recharged. Fleets should always ensure that their trucks’ batteries are free of corrosion, that battery testers are regularly replaced, and that charging equipment is always working at full capacity.

“Now, [the battery] still may fail; you may still have concerns with the battery,” Cathey continued. “But the encouragement here is to try to get the battery fully charged, or at least [at a] 75% stated charge before we’re looking at any type of answers.”

With Autopilot Capabilities Ramping Up, Public Trust is Imperative

August 27, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Experts are claiming that the progress of safety innovations that come with new vehicle technology may be hindered by the public’s lack of trust or understanding regarding automated driving systems.

“Whether it’s Tesla or anyone else, it is incumbent on these manufacturers to be honest in what their technology does and does not do,” said chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, Jennifer Homendy.

Homendy took over as chairwoman of the agency as Tesla Inc. faced backlash regarding its Autopilot capabilities following the opening of an investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on car crashes involving Autopilot-equipped vehicles.

Although Homendy noted that Tesla has been easy to work with during NTSB investigations, she did note that various TV advertisements for Autopilot-equipped Teslas do allude to the idea that these vehicles can brake and steer on their own, although drivers must still be alert and monitoring these systems at any given time while a vehicle is being operated.

Homendy added that some officials even said they themselves believed some of these Tesla models were self-operating during a recent state highway safety conference.

“I was stunned,” Homendy said of those comments. “No, we do not [have self-operating models].”

She also explained in her first address to NTSB staff as chairwoman that she would make it a priority to–within the next 100 days–rename NTSB’s Office of Aviation Safety for it to better reflect its role in analyzing incidents occurring within commercial space travel.

“We are doing a lot, but nobody knows it,” she explained of the Office’s responsibility in these investigations. “We need to demonstrate it to our partners–to our stakeholders–that we’re ready, because we are.”

Additionally, Homendy requested that agency staff complete a regulation draft regarding updated commercial space industry-governing requirements within 60 days. The NTSB has been analyzing and investigating commercial rocket- and space vehicle-related incidents for many years, although the need for these kinds of investigations isn’t especially common. One such analysis included that of the Virgin Galactic space plane’s destruction in 2014.

“I don’t want to be in a situation–God forbid–that something does happen and we don’t have adequate resources,” Homendy explained. “So, I do believe this is an area we do need to expand and include additional expertise.”

Investigation preparation has become vital across many sectors of air transportation, she added, as robotic flying devices and un-piloted drones are currently undergoing design efforts to become future air taxis, and other innovative new methods of aircraft transportation and recreation are also in the works–such as Jeff Bezos’ recent Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. and Blue Origin LLC ride into space, which Virgin has announced would be a joyride available to others for $450,000 per ticket.

Because of the future of this kind of travel, Homendy is aiming to boost NTSB staff and its capacity budget, as the funding-setting safety board authorization is due for renewal in 2021. The exact number of budget increase that will be requested isn’t yet known, though, she explained.

“The things that the public relies on–timely reports, great recommendations, what’s happened on an investigation [being released] as early as possible–that requires resources,” she added.

A much larger NTSB staff will be necessary for the fast-paced innovations of transportation technology and all that these changes will entail.

“We are in a time of transformational change,” said Homendy. “But, you know, I hear a lot about innovation and a lot about investment. I’m not learning a lot about safety–that’s where we come in. Safety has to be the driver. That’s our role.”

For this purpose, Homendy has requested that NTSB fill the current 50 open jobs within the agency, which makes up more than 12% of all current staff. Still, though, Homendy’s overarching goal is to bring important changes to overall safety within transportation, as she says there is a “very long list” of actions she plans to take in order to do so–including the vast improvement of driver assist system safety. She has made clear her intent to urge Congress to increase agency funding and to help the agency focus on incoming tech capabilities regarding everything from space flight to automated passenger vehicles.

“I think we have a great past,” she said of NTSB, “but I think we have to be future-looking.”

AV Tech and Electrification Changing Truck Market for Good, Paccar Inc. Says

August 12, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

The commercial truck market is changing–rapidly. Features like autonomous driving capabilities, electrification, and virtually-connected vehicles are making their way through the industry as more innovative technologies infiltrate the automotive sector as a whole.

“Those are the core technology pillars that are converging at the same time and forcing change,” said the new chief technology officer for Paccar inc., John Rich. Paccar recently showcased two zero-emission Class 8 commercial trucks at the U.S. Capitol, and claimed that the future of both medium- and heavy-duty trucks relies on these trends.

Rich came onboard Paccar after 30 years at Ford Motor Co. as the company’s director of global strategy and of autonomous vehicle technologies.

Paccar also unveiled its battery-powered Peterbilt Model 579 EV, along with a a hydrogen fuel cell-electric Kenworth T680, at the U.S. Department of Energy headquarters. Members of Congress and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm were in attendance.

Peterbilt and Kenworth, which operate under Paccar, have formally introduced their three battery-electric models, although the company’s fuel cell trucks are still in development.

“We’ve made our first deliveries of [electric] trucks,” said Rich. “There’s a lot of talk, a lot of pilot projects, a lot of test fleets, a lot of samples, but cold, hard cash for a truck is a rarity, and we’ve done that in a couple of places.”

For these efforts to be as efficient and widespread as possible, Rich believes that a strong government and trucking industry collaboration is key.

“We’re trying to stress that this is not an industry that’s afraid of the change,” he explained. “We’re just trying to get it done at a measured and predictable pace that works for the industry and works for the economy.”

Additionally, some of the “very important building blocks” for this process include grants and other government incentives to help alleviate some of the bigger overall costs that come in hand with the implementation of electric vehicles and the infrastructure needed to keep them charged, Rich added.

Other key collaborative efforts include those between autonomous vehicle companies and the vehicle manufacturers themselves–efforts which have been focusing heavily upon commercial truck automation much more than the automation of taxi and ride share services–an area that many feel may cause for business overlap.

“We know our swim lanes and our businesses run nicely in parallel with each other,” said Rich.

In fact, Paccar has been partnering with Aurora, a self-driving truck maker, to develop SAE Level 4 autonomous vehicles and to work toward boosting advanced driver-assist capabilities.

These kinds of self-driving vehicles could help alleviate some of the obstacles the trucking industry has been facing in regards to the current driver shortage, as well–particularly within long haul trucking, Rich believes.

“If we can relieve some of that pressure and improve the quality of jobs for people to actually get home and get to see their families in a hub-and-spoke model, it’s a wonderful thing for everyone,” said Rich. “I firmly believe in the safety, job quality, and efficiency improvements that are possible.”

Rich also noted that “extraordinarily high tech” diesel trucks will be making their way into the industry in order to meet the 2027 federal emissions standards, an initiative that will work alongside the latest electric-powered vehicles and autonomous driving tech that have been entering the trucking industry recently.

“You can’t argue that anybody–any segment of the industry–is going to be more advanced than that,” he said. “There’s no second fiddle in this space.”

Operations and vehicle uptime will also see major improvements with the advancement of connected-vehicle technology, Rich noted.

“We haven’t even imagined some of the benefits that we’re going to get out of that,” he said.

Overall, autonomous trucking capabilities will be a huge component in the quest to improve trucking efficiency and safety for the country as a whole.

“The technologies will work,” Rich said, explaining that it will still take time. “You have to be patient with it.”

Cybersecurity Big Focus for Senate Following Pipeline Attack

August 3, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

To boost overall security operations after a serious cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline, The U.S. Senate’s freight committee leaders are currently calling upon the Biden administration, private industry stakeholders, and congressional colleagues to take swift action.

Cyberattacks of this caliber are potentially able to shut down all infrastructure operations, and the threat of such an event is still a major risk for the country, explained Maria Cantwell, Senate Commerce Committee Chairwoman. With several states undergoing a large disruption in regards to their petroleum materials during May’s Colonial Pipeline cyberattack–an event which hurt the nation’s economy–cybersecurity clearly needs some major improvements.

The Colonial Pipeline had to pay around $4.4 million to be able to restart its systems after the cyberattack affected its 5,500 miles of pipe which transport around 100 million gallons of fuel every day. Additionally, federal agencies have been recently cyberattacked by SolarWinds Russian intelligence, and Microsoft Exchange users were recently targeted in the ‘Hafnium’ attack. Other municipal and state agencies have been victims of cyberattacks recently, as well.

“The rapid growth in the number and sophistication of cyberattacks is the alarm bell ringing about the need to immediately bolster the cybersecurity of our critical infrastructure,” said Chairwoman Cantwell in a recent Senate hearing.

Because the nation’s infrastructure is indeed at risk, the federal government needs to bring options quickly in regards to solving this massive issue, she added.

“The federal government should be part of the solution,” Cantwell continued. “We need to bring about critical infrastructure investments in technology that can help the electricity grid and companies secure their networks from these kinds of intrusions.”

Both Cantwell and Senator Roger Wicker noted that there is effective legislation in the works that could help improve overall protections of the pipeline. Wicker currently serves as the panel’s ranking member and explained that public-private collaborations meaning to bring boosted safety to infrastructure networks and pipeline operations, as well as interagency operability, could have major benefits for overall protection against cyberattacks and to the pipeline itself.

“As the federal government considers ways to improve the cybersecurity framework of the pipeline sector, it will be increasingly important for the public and private sectors to coordinate their efforts more closely,” Wicker said. “Coordination between government and industry is needed to improve information sharing about emerging cyber threats and best practices to address them. Industry [experts] should also build strong relationships with their regulators and law enforcement to increase that collaboration.”

In an effort to indeed prevent cyber attacks like that endured by the Colonial Pipeline, U.S. Department of Transportation Deputy Secretary, Polly Trottenberg, noted that the Department of Transportation is working with other agencies to find the best methods of doing so. In fact, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is working to bolster enforcement and inspections across its countrywide operations, especially to monitor pipeline control rooms, improve emergency response plans, and revise integrity management plan requirements within the agency.

“The Colonial Pipeline cybersecurity incident spotlighted the importance of trust and timely information sharing, as well as public and private sector partnership in transportation cybersecurity,” Trottenberg told senators. “It also underscored that we need to keep learning and adapting quickly to meet increasingly complex and sophisticated cybersecurity challenges.”

She noted that collaborative efforts are key in making these improvements become successful and long-lasting.

“DOT will continue to work across the federal government and with the private sector to advance the cybersecurity of the pipelines that fuel and sustain our nation,” she added.

President Biden has issued an executive order following the pipeline attack to bring about strengthened federal capabilities regarding cybersecurity; the order began these efforts by establishing a cybersecurity safety review board. Additionally, the Transportation Security Administration is working to further evaluate and integrate cybersecurity across the entire transportation sector and within other agencies aligned with the industry, according to the agency’s administrator, David Pekoske.

“The pipeline system is crucial to U.S. national security, transportation, and our energy supply,’ Pekoske said. “These pipelines provide connections to other critical infrastructure upon which we depend, such as power plants and the aviation gasoline fuel supply for airplanes.”