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from the Welcome-to-the-Rig-of-Tomorrow dept.
Papas Fritas writes:
"Heavy-duty trucks spend more time on the road than passenger vehicles, so improving their fuel efficiency of 5 or 6 mpg can have a major effect on emissions--and their owners' bottom lines. Now Stephen Edelstein reports that Walmart has unveiled the Walmart Advanced Vehicle Experience (WAVE), designed for optimum aerodynamic efficiency featuring a convex nose to reduce aerodynamic drag and constructed of carbon-fiber reducing its weight by 4,000 pounds allowing the truck to carry more freight without the need for increased power or fuel consumption. The design was achieved in part by placing the driver in the center of the cab (video). The steering wheel is flanked by LCD screens--in place of conventional gauges--and there is a sleeping compartment directly behind the driver's pod.
The WAVE is powered by a Capstone Turbine engine coupled to an electrical powertrain. Capstone Turbines is a California based gas turbine manufacturer that specializes in microturbine power along with heating and cooling cogeneration systems. Key to the Capstone design is its use of foil bearings, which provides maintenance and fluid-free operation for the lifetime of the turbine and reduces the system to a single moving part which also eliminates the need for any cooling or other secondary systems. With over 7000 trucks, Walmart's fleet of vehicles provides a large opportunity to increase fuel efficiency across the board and set an example for the rest of the big box stores. They'll also be necessary in the near future: President Barack Obama has directed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to draft a new set of fuel-economy rules for medium and heavy-duty trucks."
(Score: 1) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 06 2014, @12:52PM
The article makes it clear Walmart has no plans to ever produce this, or get into trucking, so why build it? To grab patents? Prestige(??)? Or are they that bored they waste shareholder money doing go-nowhere side projects like so many other huge corps? A single occupant long-distance truck won't be popular, since many truckers take their signifcant others with them on many hauls.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by linsane on Thursday March 06 2014, @12:55PM
This concept has been done before http://coolspotters.com/designers/luigi-colani/pho tos_videos/1256416 [coolspotters.com] but I don't see them on the roads (which I would expect if they brought corporations significant cost savings)
(Score: 3, Insightful) by karmawhore on Thursday March 06 2014, @01:28PM
I don't imagine there would ever be "significant cost savings" if the trailer alone requires making one-piece 53' carbon fiber panels. This is about making it as fuel efficient as possible, then taking some of those ideas back into the realm of the practical.
=kw= lurkin' to please
(Score: 3, Informative) by linsane on Thursday March 06 2014, @01:57PM
So for it to take off it needs carbon fibre structure costs to come out of the realms of aero and motorsport and into the mainstream. Simples!
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Sir Garlon on Thursday March 06 2014, @01:25PM
This truck is a research prototype. Walmart can get valuable data on how much fuel this truck saves, plus lots of operational considerations (how do drivers like it, is the lighter carbon-fiber trailer stable enough in windy conditions, etc.). This will tell them how much they'd be willing to invest to modernize their fleet, what ROI to expect, etc. It makes all kinds of sense, even if they are never planning to build the trucks themselves. If they decide to commit, they can have someone else manufacture it for them under license.
It remains to be seen whether truck manufacturers will do parallel research. The very fact that Walmart is serious enough to build their own prototype may motivate them to step up their own R&D.
[Sir Garlon] is the marvellest knight that is now living, for he destroyeth many good knights, for he goeth invisible.
(Score: 2) by jmoschner on Thursday March 06 2014, @03:37PM
Walmart is not into manufacturing. Even their Sam's and Great Value brands are made by other companies. Walmart would most likly sell or license any designs/patents to someone better suited to build trucks for them.
(Score: 3, Informative) by EvilSS on Thursday March 06 2014, @04:01PM
The truck was built in partnership with Peterbilt, Great Dane Trailers, and Capstone Turbine, so Wal-Mart didn't exactly set out on their own with this.