Author: EUCAR March 3, 2021 Share this:

The ENSEMBLE project is paving the way for the adoption of multi-brand truck platooning in Europe. This will further improve fuel economy, reduce CO2 emissions, increase traffic safety and efficiency. The project started in June 2018 and will conclude with a demonstration event in 2021.

Truck platooning is the linking of two or more trucks in a convoy, while multi-brand platooning is the link between trucks from different manufacturers. These vehicles closely follow each other at a set, close distance by using connectivity technology and automated driving support systems. ENSEMBLE aims at demonstrating that multi-brand platooning is technically feasible while holds great potential to make road transport safer, cleaner and more efficient in the future.

The project sets standards for Platoon Levels, which describe the formation and dissolving of truck platooning, as well as how a truck will join or leave the convoy. These levels describe the different platooning functionalities and strategies, including the distance between trucks and the velocity of the convoy.

For this year, additional testing is planned, including three additional triple-brand tests. These tests with trucks from three different manufacturers provide feedback on the ability to form and dissolve a platoon. The way these three trucks join and leave the convoy will also be verified. The results from the tests will be used to finalise the technical definition of the Platoon Levels.

ENSEMBLE has also approached traffic and road authorities, to jointly define road approval requirements that will allow truck platoons to circulate on EU roads. This will result in safer, cleaner and more efficient road transport.

ENSEMBLE’s public deliverables, presentations and publications are available at the project’s website: https://platooningensemble.eu/library

ENSEMBLE consortium includes all six European truck manufacturers, they will bring in their trucks, equipped with technology platooning enablers: DAF, DAIMLER, IVECO, MAN, SCANIA and VOLVO. The consortium is completed with suppliers (CLEPA, NXP, ZF. Bosch, Continental and WABCO) to support the OEM implementations, and by research partners (TNO, IDIADA, UGE, KTH and VU Brussel) and ERTICO as networking and dissemination partner.

This project is co-funded under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 769115.