What can you expect from the ZF TraXon 2 automated transmission

ZF is introducing a hybrid version of its TraXon 2 automated transmission, which should be on sale during the second half of this decade. “We can make it available as everything from a mild hybrid to a plug-in,” says Prof. Dr Peter Laier, a member of ZF’s board of management and the person responsible for the firm’s commercial vehicle division.

TraXon 2 Hybrid is intended to act as a bridge between diesel and zero-tailpipe-emission battery electric or hydrogen fuel cell powertrains. Building such a bridge is essential, the global automotive Photo: ZF components giant contends, because orders for fully-electric trucks are not growing as rapidly in Europe and the US as was anticipated. It believes that demand is starting to stagnate. “So we need to have transitional technologies,” Laier states.

Even though it is not zero-emission, the new transmission should help both operators and truck builders meet tough CO2 reduction targets, says the company.

 ZF revealed the hybrid transmission at its Global Technology Day, staged at its test track at Jeversen in northern Germany. At the same time, it showcased a variety of onboard technologies designed to extend more protection to vulnerable road users (VRUs).

The European Union’s General Safety Regulation 2 and Transport for London’s Progressive Safe System for trucks with a zero-, one, or two-star TfL rating both mandate the installation of a Moving Off Information System (MOIS).

If a truck is stationary at the traffic lights, for example, it will warn the driver if somebody is walking directly in front. The driver will receive an alert if he or she ignores the warning and starts to pull away.

ZF’s MOIS goes one stage further and immediately applies the brakes. ZF has also come up with technology that slams on the brakes if the driver is turning left and ignores a Blind Spot Information System alert that a VRU is on the truck’s nearside.

When the brakes are applied sharply the seatbelts automatically tighten, pinning the driver and any passengers to their seats in a bid to prevent injury. ZF’s LIFETEC operation is giving seatbelts a greater role to play, with belt vibration and tightening being used to spur drivers to respond to hazards that might otherwise be dismissed.

ZF has come up with a package for heavy commercials that uses audible and visual alarms to warn the driver of a truck that is about to move into an adjacent lane, or if there is a vehicle lurking in its blind spot and a crash is imminent.

If there is no danger, then the system allows the truck to change lanes automatically. All the driver needs to do is look straight at the screen, which shows the image projected by the relevant rear-view camera mirror, indicate, and the truck will change lanes by itself.

Already installed in cars, ZF’s cubiX motion control software is now appearing in trucks. It integrates the various driver assistance devices that have been fitted into one centralised platform and makes sure they are co-ordinated with one another, and with all the vehicle’s key components. The platform manages all the actuators and ZF believes this should make it easier to control autonomous movements of trucks in locations such as distribution centres.

This is because cubiX can translate instructions from virtual driving systems into commands that tell vehicles where they ought to be going. It has been trialled in conjunction with Germany’s SAFE20 project, which involves driverless tugs manoeuvring semi-trailers around transport yards.

If the driver of an unmanned tug is instead shunting trailers, then he or she needs to be able to spot any hazards that may be in the way. ZF has come up with prototype rearand side-mounted safety cameras for semi-trailers connected to the tractor unit through a data cable so that dangers can be identified more easily.

Returning to fuel consumption and CO2 reduction, ZF has devised an electric power steering package suitable for diesel as well as electric models, which it says will save around 0.4 litres of fuel per 100km compared with existing steering systems. It should start appearing in trucks in 2027.

The company has also developed what it refers to as an Intelligent Air Management solution. It is a two-stage air-compressor that can be decoupled from the engine so that it does not pump air for the brakes and other pneumatic systems when it is not needed. This makes it up to 58% more fuel-efficient than a conventional compressor, ZF calculates – a modest saving, but still worth having.

- This article was previoulsy published in Commercial Motor, to subscribe see the latest Commercial Motor subscription offer