Transit Truck: Easier observation, safer transits

Samsung is testing a safety feature for multi-truck freeways. Samsung calls this Safety Truck.

Lorry seeks to reduce accidents

They use a wireless camera attached to the head of a heavy truck, or truck. This camera records the traffic ahead, then transmits it directly to the four display screens at the rear . These images will help the car behind the vehicle to know whether it is safe to pass the truck or not. This is not a completely new idea, because in 2009 a Russian company introduced a similar solution.

Samsung said it is now awaiting legal approval to launch the Safety Truck project. However, the feasibility of deploying the Safety Truck on a large scale is not really great. The camera can be cheap and easy to install. But mounting four monitors on each truck requires a lot of investment. And clearly this is not economically advantageous for shipping companies. However Samsung is doing very well when it can solve technical difficulties such as anti-glare or rain.

A more practical solution is the vehicle -to-vehicle communication system (V2V), which is expected to be available in the United States next year. This is a form of intelligent communication system and vehicles will share information such as location, direction, and speed. From that information, vehicles on the road will be able to issue alerts when there are unsafe situations. Providing early warning will help drivers to handle better. Or if the car is smart enough, it will handle the situation safely.