Trucking Technology Alert - July 20
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Both the online report and e-mail are sponsored by @Track Communications, a supplier of wireless communications and dispatch services.
Today's Technology Headlines:
- Solar Modules May Ensure Wireless Mobility
- Vodafone: 3G Rollout Could Be Delayed
- Fuel Management Adds Efficiency
- Wireless Enables Supply Chain
Solar Modules May Ensure Wireless Mobility
The Fraunhofer Institute in Germany is working on advanced next-generation solar cells and technologies using hydrogen-powered fuel cell systems for wireless devices.Fraunhofer conducted a recent demonstration of its new-fangled solar modules, which used solar units to power a Casio palmtop computer and a Siemens mobile phone. Christopher Hebling, head of the institute's energy and technology department, notes low-level sources of energy, such as dim sunlight or a halogen lamp, should be sufficient to power the solar cells.
Vodafone: 3G Rollout Could Be Delayed
Vodafone announced today that a possible cell phone shortage could cause the introduction of its third-generation (3G) Internet-based service to be delayed to 2003.According to a Vodafone spokesman, the company is delaying the deployment of 3G infrastructure in the United Kingdom and other European areas. The company now intends to deploy 750 3G base stations in the United Kingdom by year's end rather than the previously planned 1,200.
Vodafone still plans to introduce 3G by the second half of 2002, but admitted that deployment could be delayed until the following year. Reuters (07/20/01); Ireland, Louise; Bendeich, Mark
Fuel Management Adds Efficiency
The trucking industry has been utilizing fuel management systems for about 15 years; however, businesses are just beginning to employ the system as a way to control fuel costs, and export data to their mainframes, among other uses. In turn, management is able to measure a vehicle's operating efficiency, fuel consumption, and need for unscheduled maintenance.For instance, Florida-based Comcar Industries installed several years ago such a system, which allows them to access carrier's dispensers and fuel more than 6,000 vehicles by using plastic keys. System Transport uses the Petro Vend System2 model, which enables the carrier to bill a major client for the amount of fuel consumed.
Other companies employing such systems include Steelcase, Arnold Industries, and Great Bay Distributing. Commercial Carrier Journal (July 2001) Vol. 158, No. 7, P. 30; Desmond, Parry
For example, Ford Motor Co. is using wireless technology from Santa, Clara-based WhereNet as a step toward its build-to-order manufacturing strategy. WhereNet's solution, Real-Time Locating Systems, combines advances in software-analysis algorithms, low-radio signal, and cellular-radio technology, and so far it has produced savings at 30 Ford plants in Europe and North America.
According to Frank Taylor, Ford's vice president of material planning and logistics, it is now possible to locate any vehicle required within a matter of seconds. Wireless is also being used in automatic-identification-and-data collection (AIDC) applications. For example, the Hopkinsville, Ky., plant of auto-parts supplier Grupo Antolin uses a unique wireless-enhanced AIDC implementation. According to William Copeland, the project engineer at the Kentucky plant, the system is vital to meeting the supply-chain requirements of Ford headliners for the 2002 Explorer model. The AIDC system was essential, because the plant need to manufacture up to 80 variations of the head liner in a certain sequence. Industry Week (07/16/01) Vol. 250, No. 10, P. 21; Teresko, John
Wireless Enables Supply Chain
Wireless is rapidly becoming a supply-chain enabler, allowing manufacturers to track and locate assets and inventory.
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