Germany -  SCALAR is the name of a new open platform intelligent fleet ‘orchestration’ system from ZF Group of Friedrichshafen, Germany.

ZF’s Commercial Vehicle Solutions (CVS), a division of the ZF Group, which presented SCALAR at its Global Technology Days, ahead of IAA Transportation 2022, described it as its new advanced digital Fleet Orchestration Platform.

ZF said SCALAR offers fleet managers a real-time AI-based automated decision-making process that optimises the efficiency of freight logistics and passenger transportation all in one system. Claiming to set a new industry benchmark, ZF said that SCALAR brings together advanced digital connectivity and future technologies, including autonomous driving, for mixed fleets.

ZF explained the benefit of SCALAR and the AI-based orchestration of logistics:

“With over 25 per cent of freight journeys estimated to be empty runs, ‘Orchestration’ has the potential to help improve fleet efficiency by sending the right driver with the right vehicle at the right time. This includes helping select the most fuel-efficient and less environmentally impactful route, supporting fleet sustainability and reducing the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).”

Offering a very diverse suite of features designed to optimize commercial fleet operations, SCALAR can support a wide range of customer requirements through its open Fleet Orchestration Platform including fully automatic and live planning, routing, scheduling and dispatching solutions. ZF said it would also enable operators and other transportation stakeholders, such as shippers, carriers and cities, to embark on the next levels of Mobility as a Service (MaaS) and Transportation as a Service (TaaS).

ZF stated that a key building-block of SCALAR was the fleet orchestration technology, developed by Bestmile and acquired by ZF in November 2021. ZF stated that SCALAR further extends technologies by adding autonomous vehicle orchestration capabilities within the commercial vehicle connectivity sector and builds on its advanced Fleet Management Solutions (FMS).

With SCALAR, ZF said it has further enriched its extensive Fleet Management System expertise supplied under the Transics-branded telematics name for over 35 years with capabilities of forecasting, self-learning and live automated decision-making for fleets. It has now built an open, modular and dynamic platform to bring all these capabilities together.

ZF says the value of the sum is larger than the sum of the individual systems

“Orchestration generates greater value than combining individual isolated digital solutions through active integration, automation and self-learning. Planning, routing, dispatching and business intelligence are actively integrated and optimized with AI to deliver significant benefits. This includes eliminating management by exception and human error margins as well as ensuring live adaption and re-optimization to fully automate fleet operations.”

SCALAR also provides a wide range of technology benefits to support operational efficiency, sustainability and vehicle uptimes. During the Global Technology Days, ZF showcased two key proof-of-concepts to demonstrate SCALAR’s future capabilities. This included supporting driver safety as a result of advanced processing of data from a vehicle’s ADAS systems. Additionally, by processing data from cargo monitoring sensors, such as CargoCam, SCALAR showed it has the future potential to provide better protection and management of trailer payloads.