Purdue Engineering to Host Webinar on Advancing Freight Truck Automation

As part of the Engineering Rising to the Challenge initiative, the College of Engineering at Purdue University will join industry and government partners to host a free webinar on “Advancing Driver-Centric Automation to Enhance Safety and Efficiency in Freight Trucking” on June 16 from 2:30-3:45 p.m.

The webinar will feature experts from the Purdue Engineering Initiative in Autonomous and Connected Systems (PEI in ACS), which is hosting the event, as well as Peloton Technology and Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) leaders.

Scheduled webinar speakers are Purdue’s Greg Shaver, professor of mechanical engineering, and Neera Jain, assistant professor of mechanical engineering; Steve Boyd, CEO of Peloton Technology; and Pam Fisher, director of economic development of INDOT. The discussion will be moderated by Darcy Bullock, the Lyles Family Professor of Civil Engineering, director of the Joint Transportation Research Program at Purdue, and co-chair of the PEI in ACS.

“The safe and efficient movement of freight over our highway system is critical to our national economy,” Shaver says. “Each year in the United States, trucks transport well over $10 trillion in freight, and truck crashes cause more than 116,000 injuries to occupants of large trucks and other vehicles.”

Jain adds, “The COVID-19 pandemic has placed additional strains on the trucking industry. Advanced driver-centric automation of large trucks provides significant promise in both safety and driver efficiency. The webinar will provide insights from experts who are working together to accelerate the implementation of these emerging technologies.”

For example, panelists will discuss a project in which Purdue Engineering is collaborating with Peloton Technology, Cummins, Peterbilt Motors, other industry partners and INDOT to enhance driver-centric truck platooning—a technique that enables trucks to travel in pairs, improving safety, fuel economy and efficiency, and driver productivity.

The webinar is free, but attendees must register.  Registration, more information and the opportunity to submit a question for a speaker can be done online.

Panel members Greg Shaver (gshaver@purdue.edu), Neera Jain (neerajain@purdue.edu), Steve Boyd (steve@peloton-tech.com) and Pam Fisher (PFisher1@indot.IN.gov) will be available for interviews following the webinar.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.