Forward Thinking: Bendix® Wingman® Fusion™ And Mack Trucks Anthem™ Bring Leading-Edge Trucking Technologies Together
ELYRIA, OH… In a pairing of leading-edge highway safety technology with a head-turning new Class 8 truck, Bendix® Wingman® Fusion™ – Bendix’s flagship advanced driver assistance system – will come standard on all models of the new Anthem™ from Mack Trucks. Launched in September and highlighted at several trade shows and media events, the Anthem line includes two sleeper models and a day cab.
“It’s quite a fitting match, equipping Bendix’s most advanced safety systems with the bold look and improved efficiency that have made the Anthem such an attention-getter since its unveiling,” said Scott Burkhart, Bendix vice president – sales, marketing, and business development. “Mack is a longtime partner of Bendix when it comes to helping fleets and owner-operators put the safest available vehicles on the road, so we’re proud and honored to see Wingman Fusion join Mack’s efforts to help increase the safety of everyone on North America’s trucks and highways.”
Wingman Fusion integrates and advances a proven, road-tested suite of Bendix safety technologies – radar, camera, and the vehicle’s brake system – into a comprehensive driver assistance system. Unlike radar-only systems, Fusion combines and cross-checks information from multiple sources, enabling it to deliver enhanced rear-end collision mitigation, lane departure warning, overspeed alerts and action, and braking on stationary vehicles. Because it is built on the Bendix® ESP® full-stability program, the system also helps drivers avoid additional crash situations, including rollovers, loss-of-control, and sideswipe crashes, while prioritizing alerts to help reduce driver distraction. By gathering input through radar, camera, and the vehicle’s brakes – working together, and not just in parallel – Bendix® Wingman® Fusion™ creates a highly detailed and accurate data picture using deep, multisystem integration. The system’s camera is powered by the Mobileye System-on-Chip EyeQ processor with state-of-the-art vision algorithms.
The combination of these technologies, along with powerful next-generation computing, creates a system that typically assesses situations faster and reacts earlier, while also reducing to near zero instances of false alerts and false interventions. Bendix Wingman Fusion can alert a driver and decrease the vehicle’s speed up to twice as much as previous systems, helping mitigate potential collisions or lessen their severity.
Burkhart emphasized that Fusion’s ability to cross-check information multiple times per second – the result of software and sensors “talking” together – provides a more robust system that is much greater than the sum of its parts.
“When a Mack Anthem™ leaves our Macungie, Pennsylvania, facility with Wingman Fusion aboard, we know it’s going to help make our drivers and everyone else on the road safer,” said Roy Horton, director of product strategy for Mack Trucks. “It’s just one more way that this new generation of Mack is carrying forward the best traditions of previous models, while still taking new and important steps into the future of highway safety.”
Mack has offered Bendix® Wingman® Advanced™ – A Collision Mitigation Technology on its Pinnacle™ line since 2012. Pinnacle models can also be ordered with a factory-installed version of Wingman Fusion that provides enhanced rear collision mitigation and stationary vehicle braking.
Bendix safety technologies are not intended to encourage or enable aggressive driving, but to complement safe driving practices. Skilled, alert drivers practicing safe driving techniques and supported by ongoing, comprehensive training are paramount to highway safety. Responsibility for the safe operation of a driver assistance system-equipped vehicle remains with the driver at all times.
Bendix’s ever-growing portfolio of technology, including Wingman Fusion, delivers on safety, along with other areas critical to fleet and owner-operator success. With its focus on equipment reliability, performance and efficiency, providing lower cost of vehicle ownership, and offering unparalleled post-sales support, Bendix aims to increase return on investment in advanced systems that will improve safety for drivers, passengers, and all who share the roadway.
For more information about Bendix safety systems, call Bendix at 1-800-AIR-BRAKE or visit http://www.safertrucks.com/solutions.