Volvo's New VNL Series Semi Trucks Include CarPlay Support

[Tech198]

I could see myself fitting right in one of those trucks.... Banging out to AC/DC.

It wouldn't be distraction if you could have put on headphones with Carplay.

 

[Jeaz]

And keep in its own lane, and speed up when it should, and merge when it should (and not when it shouldn't).

If the technology is so great, why is there a human employed to sit in that seat?
So long as there's a human employed to sit in that seat, they should do their damn job and not be screwing around with anything else.



If we were talking about someone driving a smartcar, I wouldn't care that much. Survival of the Fittest takes care of them.

Since we're talking about someone driving a semi, this isn't valid anymore. People besides the person at fault dies when it's a semi.

I think you have a misunderstanding of what CarPlay actually does. It’s a scaled down iOS UI to you phone fitted to the car environment. It only has maps, audio and phone functions. No browsing, Facebook, Twitter and so on. Apple has complete control over which apps are allowed, and in the AppStore it’s pretty much only Spotify, TuneIn and Audible who’s been let in so far. And the system is not more distracting than other in-car systems.

Or do you suggest drivers shouldn’t listen to music or podcasts either, as they’d be distracted?

 

[960design]

I kind of want a semi truck now.

Some of the best used trucks for sale from this company. Stevens and Kenworth have co-owners / board members so the maintenance is top notch and the trucks are well kept.
http://www.stevenstransport.com/transport-services/truck-equipment-for-sale/

The black T2000 KW is one of my favorites...
http://www.commercialtrucktrader.com/Kenworth-T2000-For-Sale/search-results?model=T2000|764870112&make=KENWORTH|2312164

Thought about getting one and just keeping it for long trips with the family. Rides a lot better than the porsche and I could pick up an ad-hoc load that would pay for the fuel.

I've only considered doing this after drinking far too much port. I usually consider selling everything and buying a boat and sailing off into the sunset when drinking too much port as well. I have figured out the problem, not enough port to get anything done.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

I think you have a misunderstanding of what CarPlay actually does. It’s a scaled down iOS UI to you phone fitted to the car environment. It only has maps, audio and phone functions. No browsing, Facebook, Twitter and so on. Apple has complete control over which apps are allowed, and in the AppStore it’s pretty much only Spotify, TuneIn and Audible who’s been let in so far. And the system is not more distracting than other in-car systems.

Or do you suggest drivers shouldn’t listen to music or podcasts either, as they’d be distracted?

I'm aware of what CarPlay contains, and you left off the (possibly only) app that concerns me: Messages. Yes, I know it utilizes Siri. And that makes it worse, not better. Official studies have been conducted that have found people are more distracted by using Siri to message than they are by just typing on the screen (which by no means means you should do that, either.)

 

[melendezest]

Oh they certainly do. They've lagged on updating them, but they definitely still make them.


And to the joy of the vocal minority Apple have been more open than usual about their upcoming "Truck" plans:

http://www.macworld.co.uk/review/mac-pro/mac-pro-2018-or-2019-preview-3660979/

https://www.apple.com/imac-pro/

I don't consider any current Mac a "truck", but that's obviously arguable. I feel they're light, non-offroad, short-bed pickups at best.

I do look forward to a proper Mac Truck as announced, but I've been disappointed by Apple so many times in recent years that I now expect to be disappointed yet again. It always sounds good at first, but there'll be some missing feature (that'll be added next year). Apple is an expert at removing things that are useful and adding things that aren't (the current MBP being the single most egregious example of this).

That said, fingers crossed they exceed (my already very low) expectations.

 

[winston1236]

Nearing the end of careers as a long-haul truck driver? Automation will hit drivers hard, but be a boon to consumers.

Was thinking the same thing, they're already testing automated trucks now but I guess in the short term sales are sales.

 

[8281]

And keep in its own lane, and speed up when it should, and merge when it should (and not when it shouldn't).

If the technology is so great, why is there a human employed to sit in that seat?
So long as there's a human employed to sit in that seat, they should do their damn job and not be screwing around with anything else.



If we were talking about someone driving a smartcar, I wouldn't care that much. Survival of the Fittest takes care of them.

Since we're talking about someone driving a semi, this isn't valid anymore. People besides the person at fault dies when it's a semi.

I think it's more valid. I want the semi truck to have blind-spot monitoring, active cruise control, auto-braking, and yes, easy-to-use touchscreens with built-in compatibility for smartphones. Drivers will use the tech anyway, why not make it baked into the design on the truck? Eventually these trucks will have semi-autonomous capability as well, as they should once the tech is ready.