Samsung latest to the table with futuristic truck tech

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Korean tech giant Samsung last week revealed this, what it calls the “Safety Truck,” aimed at helping those attempting to pass big rigs see oncoming traffic better:

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The system uses a wireless camera mounted on the truck’s front and transmits the video feed to four monitors built into the trailer doors. The model here is just a prototype — and is no longer operational — and was only used in Argentina, where, Samsung says, crash rates are among the world’s highest.

Most of the country’s accidents happen in situations like the one pictured here: passing scenarios on two-lane highways.

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Technology like that on the so-called Safety Truck could help prevent those accidents by expanding the field of view of four wheelers operating near heavy trucks, Samsung says.

If Samsung has any longer-term plans for the technology, however, remains to be seen. The prototype pictured is already out of commission, and Samsung could have been trying to simply promote its meat and potato products — electronics — rather than announcing its foray into trucking industry systems.

However, as Overdrive Equipment Editor Jack Roberts wrote on OD sister site CCJ last week, Samsung’s showing does highlight another equipment trend forthcoming: increasing vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure connectivity. Click here to read that story.