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Virtual Technician’s 200,000th Installation, 5th Anniversary

Five years after its launch, Detroit has marked the 200,000th installation of its Detroit Connect Virtual Technician integrated remote diagnostic system hardware.

by Staff
June 14, 2016
Virtual Technician’s 200,000th Installation, 5th Anniversary

 

1 min to read


Five years after its launch, Detroit has marked the 200,000th installation of its Detroit Connect Virtual Technician integrated remote diagnostic system hardware. The 200,000th Virtual Technician hardware unit was installed on a Freightliner Cascadia Evolution truck equipped with a Detroit DD15 engine delivered to Penske Truck Leasing Co. 

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Introduced in 2011, Virtual Technician now serves as the foundation of the Detroit Connect suite of connected vehicle solutions.

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Developed in collaboration with DTNA’s partner Zonar Systems Inc., Virtual Technician is standard on all Freightliner and Western Star trucks equipped with Detroit heavy-duty engines, including the DD13, DD15, and DD16. Utilizing Zonar’s VTHU communications hardware platform, the technology records engine or aftertreatment fault code events and uses cellular communications to notify fleets of the severity of the problem within two minutes.

A new portal, launching in the second half of 2016, will provide Detroit Connect users additional information about overall fleet health, as well as provide a deeper dive into specific fault events communicated through Virtual Technician. 

See the video below for details on Virtual Technician: 

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