A System Totally Different From Convention
Fuel Economy Gauges
| Sato |
Will you please tell us how much your MHS-01 Eco-Driving Navigation
System contributes to the improvement of fuel economy? |
| Mitsui |
We have conducted fleet tests in cooperation with a dozen
transport companies since last summer. For example, a three-week test with the
Nagano branch of Kintetsu Butsuryu, a major transport company, resulted in a 22%
improvement in fuel economy. |
| Tateuchi |
That's remarkable. |
| Mitsui |
The average fuel economy of 20-ton trucks in Japan is about
3 kilometers per liter. Kintetsu Butsuryu's drivers had already been practicing
economical driving with fuel economy of 3.6 kilometers per liter. With our system,
it improved to 4.4 kilometers per liter. |
| Sato |
It was a great cost savings, wasn't it? |
| Mitsui |
 The
MHS-01 was tested with trucks used for routes of about 1,000 kilometers. The test
revealed that each of the trucks equipped with the system saved 53 liters of light
oil during each trip. The trucks used for the test usually make similar trips
156 times a year. It means a truck with the system could save 8,270 liters of
light oil and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 21 tons per year. Assuming a
light oil price of 78 yen, this translates into a savings of 645,000 yen. |
| Sato |
How much is the MHS-01? |
| Mitsui |
The basic unit is priced at 262,500 yen (tax included), the
memory card to record driving data at 31,500 yen (tax included), the software
developed exclusively for the system to manage such data at 315,000 or 420,000
yen (tax included). |
| Tateuchi |
Very reasonable! The initial investment in the basic unit
and card can be recouped within 6 months, those with the software within 12 months. |
| Mitsui |
Regarding the software, one package is enough for each office. |
| Sato |
How does the MHS-01 work? |
| Mitsui |
The system receives three signals of throttle position, engine
revolution and speed from the vehicle while the G-sensor (gravity sensor) built
into the main unit collects other information. The system then figures out the
most economical driving practices, and tells the driver how to do specifically. |
| Sato |
How is it different from fuel gauges for passenger cars? |
| Mitsui |
There are three things which make our system different from
ordinary fuel gauges. First, laden weight is very important for commercial trucks. |
| Tateuchi |
Oh, yeah. Driving actions for a truck with a full load must
be different from those for an empty truck. |
| Mitsui |
That's right. Laden weights of trucks change frequently during
their trips. Suppose one driver starts his trip with a load of 10 tons. He unloads
four tons of it on the way and then loads additional cargo of 2 tons after that.
So he is not able to achieve truly economical driving practices unless he understands
the laden weight of his vehicle in real-time. The MHS-01 figures out the real
time laden weight of vehicles by calculation, not by measuring with a weight meter.
|
| Tateuchi |
Fuel gauges have no such a function. |
| Mitsui |
Second, the system calculates the accurate engine performance
of each vehicle. Since car engines change over time, the system constantly checks
engine performance to give drivers accurate instructions.
Third, the system evaluates road conditions in real-time. It instantaneously tells
driver if he is driving on an uphill, downhill or level road. Air resistance is
also important. The system figures out if the driver is driving the vehicle with
or against the wind. |
| Minami |
Since the frontal projected area of a truck changes considerably
as the size of its laden cargo changes, air resistance is a very important factor. |
| Sato |
I think a great number of companies will want the system. |
| Minami |
To our delight, we have already had many inquiries from transport
companies and manufacturing companies. |
| Tateuchi |
This version is for manual transmission vehicles, isn't it?
Are you interested in developing another version for automatic transmission vehicles? |
| Minami |
It is currently under development. |
The idea came from Formura One and cart racing
| Tateuchi |
This system is based on a concept nobody has
ever conceived. |
| Minami |
Miyama also conducts a trucking business with
200 trucks. Our drivers have been instructed to stop idling in non-traffic situations
and become aware of eco-driving since 1997. Our efforts for eco-driving, however,
did not result in considerable differences. |
| Sato |
Why? |
| Minami |
When evaluating the eco-driving level of each
driver, fuel economy was the only criterion considered. But we found, through
interviews with drivers, that many of them had good reasons for bad fuel economy
results. Like, "My route is always congested," "I always carry
a heavy load," "My vehicle is older than the others" and so on.
I had some experience of driving trucks myself so I really understood what they
meant. |
| Sato |
You have developed the MHS-01 as a fair system
which allows each driver to control his driving practices, not as a machine to
manage drivers. |
| Minami |
Yes. Because I also hated to be managed just
like truck driver. |
| Tateuchi |
Managing yourself is much better than being managed
by someone. I think that love and trust for drivers underlie this system. Mr.
Minami, you are a motorhead, aren't you? |
| Minami |
Yes. I am a great fan of Formura One racing.
The driving data of each Formura One racing car is instantaneously sent to the
pit for analysis, and then sent back to the driver. I wanted to introduce a similar
system to trucking services. |
| Tateuchi |
A man with a keen enthusiasm for cars can only
imagine a system like this. Engineers at automakers, whose jobs are to design
trucks, never conceived of such an idea. |
| Minami |
I also enjoy cart racing on holidays. Nowadays
data loggers are used for cart races as well. With a data logger, you can easily
spot the problems of your driving practices. One day, I thought data logging could
be very useful for truck drivers as well. It was the beginning of our project.
Then we started developing the MHS-01 under the guidance of Professor Yoshimasa
Hayashi, Engineering Department of Tokai University. |
| Tateuchi |
Well, I would like to see Professor Hayashi next
month. But before that, let me show how well Tateuchi-style eco-driving compares
to the MHS-01. |
 Tadashi
Tateuchi and the MHS-01 had a fuel economy competition on a city course of 4.4
kilometer using a VW Golf III Turbo Diesel. First, Tateuchi drove along the course
with no particular consideration for fuel economy. The gas mileage at that time
was 10.3 kilometers per liter. Next, he drove along the same course focusing on
saving fuel with the MHS-01 off. The gas mileage improved to 17.5 kilometers per
liter. Finally, he drove the same course again following instructions given by
the MHS-01 and achieved gas mileage of 21.5 kilometers per liter. The MHS-01 had
an easy win over Tateuchi's eco-driving!!
The MHS-01 gave Tateuchi specific eco-driving instructions through
voice message assistance like ordinary car navigation systems. These instructions
included "Shift up early," "Depress the gas pedal smoothly"
and "Slowdown smoothly." It is also notable that the MHS-01 offers not
only gas mileage data but also detailed information on the driver's overall driving
practices. For example, the system showed that Tateuchi's eco-driving wasted 50
cc of gas for "excessive gas pedal action," and 10cc for "driving
in a lower gear (especially using the fourth when the fifth should have been used.)
 |
Tateuchi's Comment:Drivers Are Not Machines |
What if the MHS-01 was combined with an ordinary car navigation
system? With the GPS and VICS functions, drivers could obtain extensive assistance
which would allow them to accurately anticipate road and traffic conditions resulting
in safer and more economical driving. More advanced assistance involving weather
information, such as that of rain, fog and snow, could also be possible. I am
thrilled with technology like the MHS-01 because it has great potential for various
applications.
Reducing carbon dioxide emissions solely through technological and mechanical
improvements has its limits. We need to treat drivers themselves as integral parts
of systems or technology in order to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. In other
words, the hybridization of cars and drivers will be the key to the reduction
of carbon dioxide emissions in the future. In that case, however, how engineers
look at drivers would greatly affect the characters of cars developed by them.
MHS-01 has directly addressed this problem. "Drivers are not machines. Every
one of them is unique." In its pursuit of an industrialized society, modern
education has lost touch with the human aspect of technology which underlies the
concept of the MHS-01. In this sense, the system is a good model of technology
to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the future.
I wish Miyama would develop a similar system for me to utilize
on the racetrack.
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