Trends in Truck Instrumentation in North America

Primary driving instrumentation for light, medium and heavy-duty trucks has experienced significant changes over the last 10 years. Changes to truck instrumentation continue at staggering speeds as new technologies are applied. Truck electronics has typically been a follower of the automotive industry in the areas of electronic modules, electronic engines, data link systems and other features. Part of the reason is that the market consisting of the fleet owners, individual owner-operators, maintenance personnel and other truck operators were not ready to accept automotive industry technology. Today, the total electronic content in trucks is increasing in value every year. This paper explores the trends in truck primary driving instrumentation from the 1980's looking forward over the next 5 years.