Mediaroom

The EU-funded project ENSEMBLE on multi-brand truck platooning achieved its objectives on 23 September by publicly demonstrating the successful applicability of connectivity functionalities between several trucks from different manufacturing companies.  

During the event, seven trucks, well prepared by major European automotive suppliers and truck manufacturers (OEMs) drove together for the first time in a fully coordinated multi-brand platoon. Participants online watched the live broadcast of the platooning demonstration on the Spanish highways in real-time, as well as an interesting program of presentations about the technical implementations and further standardisation opportunities of platooning.  

The active collaboration between the European suppliers Bosch, Brembo, Continental, NXP, WABCO, and ZF, together with the CLEPA Secretariat, truck manufacturers, universities, and research institutes, has led to the success of a three-year development that started in June 2018. The result is a common solution, ready for further standardisation activities, with important safety and environmental benefits. 

“Realising multi-brand platooning meant working hard to align on the technical aspects concerning connectivity and communication between all the players involved”, says Sigrid de Vries, CLEPA secretary-general. “In the ENSEMBLE project, together we paved the way for an overall improvement in the transport sector in Europe, particularly in traffic safety, fuel economy, and efficient road use.” 

The basis of this realisation is the specifically developed V2V (Vehicle to Vehicle) communication protocol that supports the correct behavior and reaction of each of the trucks in the platoon for every envisioned traffic use case. 

“The platooning communication protocol developed in ENSEMBLE, including cybersecurity features, allows trucks from different brands to communicate with each other”, explains CLEPA’s Edoardo Mascalchi, leader of the ENSEMBLE Work Package 2. “CLEPA has coordinated the activities to develop function definitions, use cases and specifications and requirements agreed by major suppliers and seven truck manufacturers”.  

You can watch ENSEMBLE’s public demonstration in Barcelona here. 

Discover with Edoardo Mascalchi how the ENSEMBLE communication protocol works here. 

About ENSEMBLE 

ENSEMBLE is part of the European Commission’s Horizon2020 programme and has had the aim to implement a multi-branding approach for platooning, the linking of two or more trucks in convoy, using connectivity technology and automated driving support systems.  

The project was launched to modernise the transport system by finding an optimal balance between fuel consumption, emission level, travel times and impact on highway traffic flow, resulting in reduced impacts on climate change, air pollution, noise, health and accidents. 

You can visit the project’s website for more information.