Volvo Trucks introducing new version of I-See for improved fuel economy

1 March 2013

Volvo Trucks is introducing a new version of I-See, a system in the new Volvo FH that saves fuel when driving in hilly terrain. (Earlier post.) The new version remotely obtains up-to-date information about the road’s topography from a central server, so all trucks with I-See have access to the same fuel-saving information.

The original I-See system harnessed the truck’s own kinetic energy to “push” the vehicle up hills. On downhill gradients the same energy is used for acceleration. I-See is linked to the transmission’s tilt sensor and obtains information about the topography digitally. The fact that the system is not dependent on maps makes it more dependable since it always obtains the very latest information.

How I-See works. Click to enlarge.

I-See can be likened to an autopilot that takes care of gear selection, acceleration and engine braking on hills in the most fuel-efficient way possible. The fuel saving for the long-haul assignment may be as much as 5%.

With the new system, says Christer Pehrsson, Business Area Manager for Long-Haul Operations, a truck need not have driven on a particular hill even once—it will still be able to reap the full benefit of the system’s potential.

The first time a truck equipped with the new version of I-See drives on a hilly stretch of road, information about the local topography is transmitted wirelessly to the Volvo Trucks server and is therefore not only stored locally in the truck’s memory, as it was in the previous version of I-See.

When another truck with I-See drives on the same road, the system automatically receives topography information from the server and makes sure gear-changes and acceleration and braking take place fuel-efficiently the very first time it gets to the road.

With the new version all trucks with I-See, irrespective of which haulage firm they work for, always have access to current, updated information about the gradients they come across.