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'Rightsized' Connected Fleet Truck Concepts Fit Urban Needs

 

January  6th, 2020

Panasonic, in collaboration with Tropos Motors, revealed two multi-technology, production-ready compact utility commercial vehicles. 

The rightsized, connected fleet truck concepts are powered by Panasonic's proprietary software and cloud services platform OneConnect. The company says they represent a more accessible and a more agile fleet approach conceived to keep business flowing in tight or last-mile spaces.

Whether it is delivering just-in-time information to the fleet operator for emergency response needs or keeping the run of small business uninterrupted, Tropos compact utility trucks outfitted with Panasonic domain technology fits in the tightest metro spaces to complete the job. 

"The goal is to address the needs of businesses that depend on small commercial vehicles with a practical and efficient solution," said Tropos founder and CEO John Bautista. "With an ability to accommodate both large and purpose-built payloads, our vehicles are created with versatility in mind to fulfill the requirements of any corporate, first-responder, agricultural or last mile application." 

The Connected Right-Sized Emergency Firetruck production concept was revealed showing a Tropos Motors' rightsized firetruck outfitted with a rugged Panasonic Toughbook FZ-G1 Tablet to track or receive emergency information. All trucks would be equipped OneConnect analytics to provide battery / maintenance health as well as tampering and theft analytics.

According to Panasonic, a full-sized fire truck could cost as much as $500,000, but the Tropos FRV fire truck is one-tenth of the cost and offers similar capabilities. In fact, these trucks have a footprint that fit on the width of a typical cart path. Due to its smaller stature, this fire truck is able to access emergency situations with tighter spaces and can even fit underneath most parking structure height restrictions. 

Connected Last Mile Refrigeration Cargo is the second production concept on the exhibit floor showing a Tropos Motors' rightsized Hussmann cold chain cargo truck outfitted with small compartment RADBD Vacuum Insulation Panel (VIP) insulated coolers. This technology stays 13 times colder than regular polyurethane coolers in the market and is thinner to allow for more product in the cooler.

With its highly recyclable and energy savings nature, there is no need for additional technology to refrigerate the entire cargo box. VIP is the perfect solution for metro, small store deliveries, according to the manufacturer. 

In addition, with compartmentalize cooling, there is no additional energy draw on the electrical/battery system of the truck. "Our VIP insulation technology helps save in multiple ways -- overall cost and clean energy as there is less need for cooling from compression devices," said PIDSA president, Jeff Howell. "A win-win on two fronts and a game changer in smaller cool chain deliveries." 

Panasonic's OneConnect global platform ensures vehicles are maintained and up-to-date by providing predictive maintenance reminders to the driver, while providing analytics via the platform to the OEM and end consumer. According to Statista, by 2023, there will be more than 342 million connected vehicles worldwide. 

As represented in the concept vehicle, OneConnect analytics can be customized to focus on electric vehicle data to create algorithms that improve battery efficiency to optimize short and long-term state of health of the vehicle and one's total investment. OneConnect analytics and data can be stored or accessed through SkipGen or SPYDR and transferred between the OEM, the vehicle and the end consumer.

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