TruckLabs Introduces New Name, Software Product
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XStream Trucking Inc. renamed itself TruckLabs and introduced its new fleet management software TripDynamics.
It will continue to market its initial product, an aerodynamic device called TruckWings.
“We have gotten really good at, and spent years, trying to figure out how to disentangle different drivers of fuel cost,” Daniel Burrows, founder and CEO of TruckLabs, told Transport Topics.
TruckWings has notched 100 million miles of on-highway experience, according to the Redwood City, Calif.-based company, which has additional offices in Phoenix. Burrows said that flow of big data and TruckLabs’ algorithms underpin TripDynamics, which is meant to help fleet managers and drivers benefit from ways to increase fuel efficiency.
Burrows said he saw an opportunity to increase the focus on drivers, who are sometimes treated as simply a commodity, as evidenced by typically high churn rates in the truckload sector. But they actually have a lot of choices under their control — even when using automated or automatic transmissions.
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You have to have an understanding of what’s going on in the truck, he said. It’s not just good enough to know what the load is. “There are many fleet management systems on the market, but when you get into the driver-coaching, driver-performance tracking there aren’t as many as you might expect because it is a really hard problem to solve.”
It takes a lot of data to discover the multiple factors influencing fuel use during a trip, he added, including weather, the driver, the powertrain, what brand of truck is used and whether the truck has aerodynamic features.
At the same time, there are several ways of applying safer driving practices, better on-time practices, traffic avoidance and help with route planning — which really help drivers make their lives easier, he said. These factors are what TripDynamics is targeting.
Those insights on improving fuel efficiency are best shared among fleet managers and drivers, Burrows said.
“Ultimately that is the fleet’s choice, but with a true measurement system, we hear many fleets would be willing to share some of the gains with their best and most improved drivers,” he said. “Attracting and retaining reliable, safe drivers is a top priority for any fleet.”
Developing driver-focused software always has been part of “the journey” Burrows said he wanted.
“But what was really important at the start of it was the tremendous focus on one product in order to bring it to market,” he said. “So I had to put these ideas on the back burner while I focused on TruckWings.”
Update! XStream Trucking is now officially TruckLabs, which best reflects our go-forward mission and value to customers. Read more about our 100 million miles of learning & mission here: https://t.co/qVqsx8Dyk1 — TruckLabs (@TheTruckLabs) November 19, 2020
In 2016, XStream Trucking was a student engineering project at Stanford University, and it won second place and $30,000 for its patented technology during that year’s Cleantech University Prize national competition.
TruckWings is bolted behind the cab. The top and side panels unfold automatically when a truck reaches a certain speed. They refold by themselves when the open gap is needed for the truck to make a turn.
The company reported several leading fleets now are using TruckWings, and it is shown it can generate 4% to 6% improved fuel efficiency compared with trucks without it.
Burrows knows most fleets have the reputation for slowly adopting technology, but he doesn’t agree.
“They just know that new technology often can have problems, so they go at a sensible speed to test it,” he said.
Fleets now are adopting TruckWings based on other fleets’ successful experiences, he said, rather than first running extensive trials themselves.
Now comes TripDynamics, and Burrows said the launch was a matter of timing.
“We can start building the next stage of the journey,” he said.
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