Autonomous yard trucks and a new trailer tracking system

00:00 In this week’s CCJ Tech Shorts, we’ll take a look at improved technology that aims to accelerate the adoption of autonomous yard trucks, a new trailer tracker and McLeod’s latest updates.

00:24 Outrider, a company that focuses exclusively on automating yard operations, has unveiled a new capability to accelerate the adoption of autonomous yard trucks.

The latest technology identifies specific characteristics of yard actors, such as orientation, position and velocity, anticipates their trajectories, and responds to their actions using predictable, human-like behaviors, resulting in increased speed and volume of trailer missions. Millions of data points collected from Fortune 500 customer distribution yards feed Outrider’s proprietary deep-learning models, which create the neural networks for the autonomous system to automate yard tasks with increasing intelligence and precision.

Outrider Founder and CEO Andrew Smith said, “Because distribution yards are complex outdoor environments, Outrider’s autonomous system is designed to work side-by-side with many types of actors, including other yard trucks, over-the-road semi-trucks, trailers, delivery trucks, golf carts, pallets, personnel and more. Our latest perception technology enables Outrider’s system to autonomously move customer trailers and containers with greater levels of efficiency and safety than ever before.”

To enable the latest perception capabilities, Outrider updated its multi-modal sensor platform on each autonomous yard truck with over three times the range and 10 times the sensor data to achieve critical safety and performance objectives for scaled driverless operations. This allows the AVs to detect obstacles from greater distances, react to them early, and perform accurate maneuvers to improve the safety of operations. 

Outrider has been collecting perception-based data points since 2019 across a wide variety of distribution yards used for package shipping, eCommerce and retail, consumer packaged goods, intermodal rail and manufacturing. The diversity of environments in which the system operates enhances the safety of operations at each individual customer site. All of Outrider’s AI-driven perception capabilities are backed up with redundant safety mechanisms to merge the benefits of machine learning with traditional functional safety approaches used for industrial operations.

02:31 Fleet management solutions provider Trackhawk GPS has introduced its latest product: the Trackhawk TH07 trailer tracker.

The Trackhawk TH07, designed with the latest technology and user-centric features, offers real-time monitoring, security and efficiency in managing trailers with no installation needed. TH07 provides real-time location updates, enabling fleet managers to monitor trailer movements accurately. With its geofencing capabilities, users can set virtual perimeters and receive instant alerts if a trailer enters or exits predefined geographical boundaries, enhancing security and preventing unauthorized use. The device comes equipped with anti-tamper sensors and geolocation technology, providing robust security against theft or unauthorized access.

The device also has an extended battery life that lasts for up to 10 years, ensuring continuous tracking without frequent recharging, ideal for long-haul trips. And to top it off, the Trackhawk GPS platform features a user-friendly interface, allowing easy access to real-time data, reports and analytics for efficient fleet management.

03:41 McLeod Software has released Version 24.1 of its PowerBroker and LoadMaster software solutions as well as Version 24 of both DocumentPower and McLeod IQ.

In addition to enhancements to the sales call list that helps users target the right customers and prospects, the latest version of PowerBroker offers two new features, including Smart Targets and McLeod Tailor. Users can configure Smart Targets based on current market values from the McLeod MPact lane pricing analysis tool to make sure they are basing pricing decisions on the most current market analysis. McLeod Tailor allows PowerBroker customers to create and add new fields and logic, change their navigation and add new tabs to the user interface without assistance from McLeod while maintaining the ability for McLeod to fully support their system.

Other enhancements to PowerBroker include the addition of full waterfall tendering, enhancements for quoting and offers, carrier qualification and onboarding, SMS messaging options, easier management of EDI tenders, and enhancements that make it easier to deal with specific differences between load boards.

New capabilities for LoadMaster include the new LoadMatch tool that takes into account driver-specific preferences and requirements, information about available loads and the driver’s current position and hours of service to provide the top five eligible orders for each driver. By examining all the critical parameters, such as HOS, empty distance to the next load, any lane preferences previously established for that driver and minimum revenue per order, LoadMatch is able to score and rank the top five load choices from all the available loads for the fleet the driver is part of.

In addition to new and enhanced integrations for both PowerBroker and LoadMaster, the update also includes enhanced multicurrency capabilities for both by adding essential accounts payable and bank reconciliation functions.

Version 24 of McLeod DocumentPower provides support for Progressive Web Apps (PWA) on Mobile Devices. DocumentPower’s Mobile Image Capture and Short Haul applications have been converted to a PWA for easier deployment and better device support.

Lastly, in Version 24 of McLeod IQ, McLeod’s hosted Business Intelligence product, Cloud IQ, has been expanded and now has the same capabilities as the on-premise version of McLeod IQ. Cloud IQ now also offers customers more than 20 updated data reporting templates, including fuel and lane analysis, customer and driver scorecard, revenue reporting and more. Other McLeod IQ enhancements expand the presence and availability of McLeod’s MPact lane and rate analysis tools in the product, offer new time intelligence dimensions to allow more roll ups and broader analysis views, and more ways of measuring financial metrics.