The Fleet Forward Conference will feature sessions on electrification, connectivity and autonomous technology for medium- and heavy-duty trucks during its in-person event in San Jose, California, on Nov. 10-12.

FFC21 is designed to educate fleet operators on solutions surrounding electric vehicles and infrastructure, connected vehicles, autonomous technology, last-mile delivery, IoT, shared mobility, fleet-management- -a-service, next-generation telematics, and more.

The conference will consist of keynotes, panel discussions, breakout sessions, and networking events, as well as interactive tabletop exhibits and a vehicle ride-and-drive.

For the trucking crowd, FFC21 will feature the following sessions, discussions and opportunities.

• Waymo Via will display its autonomous Class 8 tractor. Members of the Waymo Via team will be on hand to explain the technology and answer questions on Waymo Via.  Waymo Via’s Peterbilt-based heavy-duty truck is equipped with the fifth generation Waymo Driver autonomous technology. The truck is currently in testing with a safety driver on freeways in the Southwest. 

• Panelists from Daimler Trucks North America, Torc and Bishop Consulting will discuss autonomous vehicles in the interactive panel “Autonomy and Trucking: What Do Fleets Need to Know Today?” The panel will answer how autonomous vehicle will handle unbalanced loads, tire blowouts, and unexpected road hazards? Is it better to own the trucks, or pay others to operate them? What are the logistics surrounding operating 22 hours a day? Beyond the technology, what components are critical to commercialize AVs in ways that make sense for me?

• In the “Plenary Session: How Partnerships Are Propelling the Autonomous Freight Market” seminar, representatives from Waymo Via and J.B. Hunt will share their blueprint for this evolution. The panelist will explain the Waymo Driver, Waymo Via’s autonomous driving solution, and key factors to commercializing an autonomous freight service, as well as share early learnings from the companies’ autonomous freight delivery trial runs in Texas. 

• In the session “Real World Insights into Medium-Duty EV Deployments,”join subject matter experts from Roush CleanTech, DHL Express and Lightning eMotors for a data-driven performance analysis of the very first deployments of medium-duty EVs, including findings on vehicle electrification for Ford Transit, E-450 or F-550 cargo and shuttle, and F-650. This feedback — gathered from drivers, telematics data, and other sources — will help attendees strategize on how and where medium-duty EVs will be best suited to their applications.