Momentum - March 2019 - 15

TODAY'S
ENGINEERING

OVER-THE-AIR AFFAIR
VEHICLE CONNECTIVITY is no longer
an option in a world where the Internet
of Things (IoT) continuously casts a
broader net on the number and types of
devices that interact with each other and
exchange data.
"We look at a vehicle as simply a
node on the Internet of Things," Andrew
Dondlinger, VP and General Manager of
Connected Services at Navistar, said at
the 2018 SAE COMVEC event. "Frankly, we
believe that if you're not a connected fleet
or you're not a connected OEM, you'll be
out of business."
In the commercial vehicle (CV) sector,
uptime is a major driver of increased
telematics and connected services.
Navistar is striving to achieve 100%
uptime-an aggressive target but one
that becomes necessary as the industry
moves to more highly automated vehicles,
according to Dondlinger.
"As we move toward electrification, we
can get to 100% uptime," he said. "And as
we move toward autonomy, we have to
have 100% uptime."
Over-the-air (OTA) programming, which
allows remote software updates without
the need for a service visit, will play a
key part in achieving this goal. Engine
reprogramming of specific parameters
has become a common application for
OTA updating, ensuring the powerplant
is running the latest calibration to reduce
faults and improve operational efficiency.
Many heavy-duty engine makers,
including Cummins, Detroit, International
and Volvo Trucks, now offer OTA engine
programming. The Detroit Connect
platform, for example, enables OTA
parameter changes and extraction of
engine performance reports. The cellularbased remote updates are exclusive to
the new Freightliner Cascadia spec'd with
Detroit engines.
The time saved can be significant.
Volvo's remote programming of software
takes less than 20 minutes, compared to
a couple days of downtime to complete
standard software downloads at a service
location, according to Ashraf Makki,
product marketing manager for Volvo
Trucks North America. The process has

MOMENTUM

Image source: Volvo Trucks

Over-the-air parameter updates for trucks equipped with GHG 2017 Volvo engines and connectivity
hardware include transmission performance mode, max road speed limit and max engine speed.
already added thousands of days of
uptime to its trucks, he said.
Remote software updates are "not just
about fixing things," Herwig Peschl, global
marketing director at Caterpillar Inc.,
explained during the company's annual
year-end press briefing in Peoria, Ill. "It's
also allowing us to get new features on
machines" that are already in the field.
A range of Cat machines are remoteflash enabled, including its nextgeneration excavators, all M3 series motor
graders as well as the 140 and 24, and M
series wheel loaders.
"This will revolutionize the way
customers can interact with their
machines," Peschl said.
Among the 24 new machines Cat
revealed at the briefing were the 330 and
336 hydraulic excavators. They follow the
introduction of the 320 and 323 nextgeneration excavators a year earlier, which
were developed with the ability to be
"very easily upgradeable through apps,
if you will," said Brian Stellbrink, product
application specialist.
"By using the base machine and the
electrohydraulic system, we're able
to continue to offer new features via

software that are available for the new
330 and 336 from the start," he explained.
"But maybe more importantly, these new
technology features through software can
be applied to a machine that was put into
the field 12 months ago."
As long as new hardware or a
calibration is not required, the updates
can be performed through remote
flash, according to product application
specialist Ryan Neal. A Lift Assist feature,
which was still being developed when the
320 and 323 were launched, is one such
example. It provides the operator with
real-time information on the weight being
lifted and where the safe working limits
are for the machine.

By Ryan Gehm, editor-in-chief of SAE's
Truck & Off-Highway Engineering magazine

March 2019 15

Momentum - March 2019

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