Helping to deliver a safer present, plus a proven foundation for the future, the Bendix Wingman Fusion enhanced collision mitigation technology is now standard on the full line of International Trucks on-highway vehicles, including the LoneStar, LT Series, and RH Series. International was the first truck manufacturer to offer Bendix’s flagship collision avoidance system – which integrates radar, camera, and the vehicle’s brake system – when the advanced driver assistance system was introduced in 2015.
“Bendix’s ongoing partnership with Navistar is built on years of shared commitment to driver, vehicle, and highway safety,” says Scott Burkhart, Bendix Vice President – Sales, Marketing, and Business Development. “In 2016, International broke new ground in North America as the first OEM to make collision mitigation technology standard on its then-new LT Series, and its positioning of Wingman Fusion as standard equipment on its complete line of on-highway tractors is both a point of pride for the entire Bendix team and another step forward alongside a true leader in our industry.”
Across North America, fleets of all sizes and applications have adopted Wingman Fusion in support of their safety efforts. Bendix proudly works with each to help enhance roadway safety and put professional drivers in safer trucks.
“As part of our DriverFirst philosophy, we concentrate on consistently improving the overall driver experience, safety included,” says Jim Nachtman, Director, Heavy-Duty, Marketing, International Truck. “Partnering with Bendix to make Fusion™ standard on all of International’s heavy-duty vehicles makes for an important joint contribution to make North American roadways safer for everyone.”
More Information, Better Decisions, and Proven Results
Bendix Wingman Fusion combines and cross-checks information from sensors that are working together – not just in parallel – along with powerful computing. The combined technologies – radar, camera, and brakes – create a system that typically assesses situations faster and reacts earlier, while also helping to significantly reduce false alerts and false interventions.
By creating a highly detailed and accurate data picture, Wingman Fusion delivers enhanced rear-end collision mitigation, and adaptive cruise control, along with following distance alerts, stationary object alerts, lane departure warning, alerts when speeding, and braking on stationary vehicles – all while prioritizing alerts to help reduce driver distraction that may result from multiple alerts sounding simultaneously.
Wingman Fusion integrates and advances a proven suite of Bendix safety technologies into a comprehensive driver assistance package that’s capable of alerting a driver, as well as decreasing the vehicle’s speed significantly compared to previous systems – all of which helps mitigate potential collisions or reduce their severity. And because it is built on the foundational technology of the Bendix ESP full-stability program, Fusion also helps drivers avoid additional crash situations, including rollovers, loss-of-control, and sideswipe crashes.
Event-based data – including video – can be wirelessly transmitted for driver coaching and analysis by fleet safety personnel. Other options include blind spot detection that helps drivers address vehicles in their blind spots that may not be visible in their mirrors. The forward-facing camera of Wingman Fusion is powered by the Mobileye System-on-Chip EyeQ processor with state-of-the-art vision algorithms.
“Over the past several years, fleets equipping Fusion have reported significant reductions in rear-end collisions – as much as 90% – and decreased severity of those that did occur,” says TJ Thomas, Bendix Director of Marketing and Customer Solutions – Controls. “And driver feedback has been positive, including higher satisfaction than with radar-only technologies, especially in terms of false alerts and interventions.”
Driver Assistance and Fleetwide Benefits
Thomas emphasized that safety systems like Wingman Fusion are driver assistance – not driver replacement – technologies. They are not intended to encourage or enable aggressive driving, but to complement safe driving practices. Skilled, alert drivers supported by ongoing, comprehensive training remain at the heart of highway safety, and responsibility for the safe operation of a driver assistance system-equipped vehicle remains with the driver at all times.
Data provided by Wingman Fusion can be a valuable tool for creating driver training and support programs, by providing performance and event-based information that can further help fleet managers and drivers strengthen safety.
Fusion is part of Bendix’s ever-growing portfolio of technologies that deliver on areas critical to fleet and owner-operator success, including safety, equipment reliability, performance and efficiency, and lower cost of vehicle ownership.