This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them.Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 8860726.
Samsung’s Transparent Trucks: Clearly A New Reality
Passing a truck, especially on a two-lane highway, can be dangerous. Samsung has a smart solution, but will we adjust?
10 Geekiest Beach Reads Of 2015
(Click image for larger view and slideshow.)
Samsung has come up with a rather ingenious and simple plan to reduce traffic accidents. It has created a truck you can see through. No, you can't see what is inside the truck, but you can see what is in front of the truck. This lets you change lanes more safely while passing and respond to danger in front of you.
It is shockingly simple. The company mounted a wireless camera on the front of the truck and placed a Samsung video display on the back of the truck. Instant view.
As you can see form the video, Samsung Argentina designed this to help stop traffic deaths. Argentina suffers traffic deaths at a rate of nearly one per hour, and many come from attempting to pass trucks on two lane highways. Clearly this isn't a problem only in Argentina. One startling statistic about truck accidents in America is that 98% of accidents involving a tractor trailer result in at least one fatality.
The value here is pretty obvious, but there are a few problems I can see.
One is cost, but when you consider the cost of big rigs and the amount of revenue they produce, it seems relatively small. A new truck costs about $140,000, and the yearly cost to operate one is $185,000. Revenue averages around $200,000. The price of a camera and a video display seems like small potatoes, though, granted, margins are rather slim in the trucking business. (Note: The revenue number is slightly older than the cost numbers, so margins might be slightly bigger than shown.) A big factor in the cost is how long these displays last in the elements, which is something I can't find data on.
Another is powering the device, which I assume requires some rewiring and changes to the power requirements to the truck. Samsung does not report how its designers powered the display, but I assume they used the truck's existing electrical system.
The biggest issue I wonder about is the driver adjustment to the concept.
We all know mirror and camera systems in cars come with warnings that objects may be closer than they appear. Can we adjust the view of the camera to give a driver a true sense of where oncoming traffic might be? Are we substituting one danger for another by creating a false sense of security?
Just as important, will the displays become a distraction? I don't know about you, but if I'm in a restaurant and a TV is on, I can't help but be distracted by the motion. Our brains are trained to see motion and respond to it. It's a leftover evolutionary response from our days as hunters. Will what essentially amounts to a TV on a truck become a "show" rather than a safety device?
Despite my reservations, I think we can overcome the issue, which then begs the question: What else can we make transparent? Seems like minivans and pickup trucks are the obvious next step. Same concept, smaller TV.
I think we can go beyond that. What about a transparent door? Can we put a camera outside the front door and the display on the inside, so we can see who is ringing the bell?
Spike Aerospace has begun offering windowless supersonic airplanes where passengers see through the plane via video, instead of looking through a real window. This makes the plane more aerodynamic, saves fuel, and makes it easier to build.
Basically, we're reaching the point where a camera and a TV make a cheap and reliable substitute for not being able to see the real world. Anywhere you need eyes, you can make this work. But despite it being a relatively simple concept, we're not putting it into practice as Samsung envisioned it yet -- as a real-time extension of our eyes at high speeds. Sure, we can use security cameras to check sensitive areas, but are we going to be able to use them at 55 miles per hour? How about at supersonic speeds?
I think it will take some getting used to, but it will happen. What do you think? Is transparent transportation in our future? Tell me in the comments.
David has been writing on business and technology for over 10 years and was most recently Managing Editor at Enterpriseefficiency.com. Before that he was an Assistant Editor at MIT Sloan Management Review, where he covered a wide range of business topics including IT, ... View Full Bio
We welcome your comments on this topic on our social media channels, or [contact us directly] with questions about the site.
David Wagner, User Rank: Strategist 6/29/2015 | 6:52:56 PM
Re: South America
@mak63- Well, I worry more about people one lane over (though in the Argentina scenario they are worried about two lane roads. Imagine the truck is in the slow lane and you are passing the truck and instead of looking in the land in front of you, you glance over to the TV. But yeah, this is not insurmountable. It is going to take some getting used to though.
The other day was an article about Bolivia and the RFID chips in windshields. Now this from Argentina. Way to go South America! @David: Will what essentially amounts to a TV on a truck become a "show" rather than a safety device? That thought ocurred to me. But I think the drivers (and passengers) behind the rig will get bored pretty fast and pass the damn truck. Don't you think?
This benefits whoever tries to pass the truck. So likely trucking companies won't get much discount.
Some trucks take 2 or more lanes to turn. Some car drivers see empty lanes and take them. Truck drivers don't notice the sneakers while turning. Bam! The truck runs over car. I saw a few.
It would be nice if somebody come up with something to prevent that.
But then nothing can prevent stuidity and ignorance.
David Wagner, User Rank: Strategist 6/29/2015 | 5:47:10 PM
Re: Questionable At Best
@asksqn- I think the real issue is not necessarily quantifying accident reduction. i bet that can actually be done. What is interesting is that the scenario of a car going around a truck doesn't necessarily lead to a truck accident. If, for example, a car goes around a truck and hits a car going head on in the other direction and neither car hits the truck, then the insurance pay outs don't involve the truck at all. So you not only have to quantify that it reduces accidents, but trucking accidents or enough car accidents that a company is willing to give the trucks a break evne if they aren't always involved.
I don't see trucking cos. voluntarily spending the extra jack for this feature unless it buys them some kind of reduction in vehicle insurance premiums, and, even then, it's hard to predict how seeing through an obstruction will translate into any quantifiable reduction in accidents.
David Wagner, User Rank: Strategist 6/29/2015 | 5:36:44 PM
Re: Nice!
@hho927- Maybe. But I actually think insurance discounts are the way to go. Let's say you can prove they cut down on fatal accidents. 98% of truck accidents involve a fatality. And of course, that means large insurance payouts. If you could prove they reduce accidents the savings is huge. Then you pass on a part of the savings to truckers willing to install the system.
there are too many variables for me to know for sure if the math works there, but that would be what I'd investigate first.
The State of Cloud Computing - Fall 2020Download this report to compare how cloud usage and spending patterns have changed in 2020, and how respondents think they'll evolve over the next two years.
2021 Top Enterprise IT TrendsWe've identified the key trends that are poised to impact the IT landscape in 2021. Find out why they're important and how they will affect you.
To save this item to your list of favorite InformationWeek content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
If you found this interesting or useful, please use the links to the services below to share it with other readers. You will need a free account with each service to share an item via that service.