Aeolus Truck & Driver News

The new Mobile Roller Brake Testing (MRBT) machines being introduced as part of the ``Road to Zero” road safety campaign are proving to be anything but. Mobile that is.

In fact, the first five of the six new machines that should have been deployed around the country by NZ Police Commercial Vehicle Safety Teams earlier this year remain in storage at its Stanley Street base in Auckland. The sixth unit has yet to be completed as parts have been delayed.

Police Vehicle Safety Officers have been trained to use the machines but eight months after their public launch in late-February, they remain idle with Police unable to provide a timeline for introduction.

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The third round of Low Emission Transport Fund allocations will provide $2.14 million in co-funding and includes several road transport projects.

Among 11 new projects are clever solutions for electric vehicle charging, ways to cut fuel costs in heavy freight, and the first marine project will get co-funding for a trial of small electric outboard motors.

“In total, the projects will receive $2.14 million from the Government’s third round of The Low Emission Transport Fund so they can trial new ways of slashing emissions in the transport sector, in areas that were previously seen as hard to decarbonise,” says Energy and Resources Minister Dr Megan Woods.

JCB, developer of the world’s first working construction machines powered by hydrogen combustion engines, has unveiled another world first for the industry - a mobile hydrogen refueller.

The pioneering British company is investing £100 million (NZ$194 million) in a project to produce super-efficient hydrogen engines and has already showcased working prototypes of a backhoe loader and Loadall telescopic handler powered by hydrogen.

The mobile hydrogen refueller will provide a quick and easy way to refuel these machines on site. Around 97% of construction machines have fuel delivered to them while working on site. This means customers are already used to a tran...

Kenworth debuted a T680 Next Generation equipped with the Aurora Driver Level 4 autonomy system at the recent ATA Management Conference and Exhibition in San Diego.

Launched at the Kenworth booth at the San Diego Convention Centre, the prototype features new control interfaces along with redundant braking, steering, and power systems to achieve the requirements needed for reliable and safe self-driving operations.

The Aurora Driver consists of sensors that perceive the world, software that plans a safe path through it, and a computer that powers and integrates the sensors and software with the truck, allowing the Aurora Driver to drive safely in autonomy on t...

The USA and China have been at the forefront of autonomous trucking development and testing on public roads.

Now it’s Europe’s turn to join the fray with both Scania and Iveco set to begin pilot test schemes.  

Scania is partnering with HAVI Supply Chain for a ground-breaking trial that sees an autonomous truck being used in the transport of commercial goods under regular traffic conditions. 

The pilot aims to learn about the effectiveness of autonomous truck transport as part of hub-to-hub operations on a route between Sodertalje and Jönköping, a three-hour journey of around 300km. The route forms part of a longer logistics flow for HAVI, wit...