Truck, sweet truck: Volvo's Chinese owner unveils methanol/electric truck with bathroom and kitchen
- Reference: 1636437368
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2021/11/09/homtruck/
- Source link:
Launched yesterday by Geely's commercial vehicle brand, Farizon Auto, the "Homtruck" is named to reflect that it's a semi-truck to handle any hauling loads up and down the world's highways, but kitted out to offer some of the comforts of home.
"The design includes a bathroom complete with a shower and toilet, single bed, refrigerator, tea maker, kitchen, and even a small washing machine." The interior uses "soft-touch fabrics, sustainable plastics, and bamboo grain materials to create a healthy eco-friendly environment inspired by the peaceful bamboo forests of China".
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Homtruck’s kitchen Click to enlarge
Under the hood things get really interesting, because Homtruck can run batteries or a methanol-hybrid powertrain. If operators opt for batteries, they'll be swappable at a network of service stations on Chinese highways (rather than giving drivers some time to brew a cup or run some laundry while they wait for a recharge).
[2]Chinese carmaker behind Volvo and Lotus ships first two satellites for planned IoT ‘OmniCloud’
[3]China stops networked vehicle data going offshore under new infosec rules
[4]Tesla promises to build robot you could beat up – or beat in a race
Geely says the Homtruck will go on sale in 2024 but has a cautious … erm … roadmap for delivering self-driving capabilities in steps until full autonomy can be delivered in 2030. The Register is unsure if the kitchen, bathroom and so on will survive once the truck can drive itself.
The truck will be wired from day one. Farizon says "Homtruck is capable of connecting to the logistics network's big data platforms to help drivers obtain the most optimal orders in real time, analyse and track deliveries, and calculate operating costs along the routes.
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"In addition, the energy management system can also manage the Homtruck's power or fuel supply to achieve the most optimal economic performance and is able to recommend optimal refuelling or recharging routes to the driver."
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Or perhaps that should be "to the resident" – given the quantity of home comforts packed into Homtruck.
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The Homtruck. Click to enlarge
Farizon hopes to sell the vehicle outside China, too, taking it into competition with Tesla, Mercedes, and others who have advanced electric truck plans. ®
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[1] https://regmedia.co.uk/2021/11/09/handout_homtruck_kitchen.jpg
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2020/04/27/geespace_omnicloud_first_satellites/
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2021/08/13/china_networked_car_rules/
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2021/08/20/tesla_ai_day/
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YYpU8b2b73bnUHk5SiPFnwAAANM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YYpU8b2b73bnUHk5SiPFnwAAANM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://regmedia.co.uk/2021/11/09/handout_homtruck.jpg
[8] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Truck or jail cell
Of course they will.
Someone has to load, unload and hitch the trailer.
Now get back in your box, you've had your fun Mr Driver.
Re: Truck or jail cell
This has been the lot of truckers for years.
Just don't use it in Europe!
And the first thing the French, Germans, Belgians and Dutch will do..... is ban it!
https://www.mw-spedition.com/en/ban-sleeping-in-a-truck-cab/
Re: Just don't use it in Europe!
In countries where the ban applies, the employer is obliged to provide drivers with a possibility to have their weekly rest in a convenient place of accommodation, in decent sanitary conditions.
Absolutely shocking.
sorta like a motor home instead of a sleeper cab
that's my take on it - aside from the autonomous claims.
An actual truck driver might appreciate not having to get a hotel room or even go to a truck stop for cross-country hauling though. This is a thing in the USA where it might take a few days to get from one coast to the other, with Rocky Mountains in between.
(or it's a place to "wait it out" if you get stuck at the bottom of a mountain because the pass is frozen or filled with mudslides or something similar)
I would have included a diesel generator to at least partially re-charge while you sleep.
Given what Vulva have done with Polestar, and what LTI have done with the taxi, the smart money surely is on Geely to deliver this truck rather than Tesla playing at delivering the truck?
Also, given the total shit show HGV drivers are forced to endure in the UK with the total lack of facilities, it could be a real winner here and will go some way to improve the working conditions of HGV drivers? Not because of the autonomous driving which would mean those drivers would then have to go and flip burgers at McDonalds, but having a nice bathroom on board instead of a Volvic water bottle?
Not sure about the reason for a (presumably) methanol fuel cell but the swap out battery option seems a good idea given current charging technology. If it could be automated so much the better - pull up, hit the button and wait much like a car wash ...
Methanol as a store of energy for a fuel cell
This is because methanol CH3-OH is a very dense carrier of hydrogen, better than 700bar compressed H2 gas or even cryogenic liquid hydrogen. Slight downside of course is the carbon atom that is disposed off as CO2.
Re: Methanol as a store of energy for a fuel cell
" Slight downside of course is the carbon atom that is disposed off as CO2. "
Capture it.
Pressurise it.
Deliver it to the food processing plant.
???
Profit.
Re: Methanol as a store of energy for a fuel cell
Collect warm flat beer from brewery.
Deliver cold fizzy beer to pubs.
Re: Methanol as a store of energy for a fuel cell
Cold, fizzy beer? Not in the UK! We like it warm and flat.
Re: Methanol as a store of energy for a fuel cell
Yes, but seeing as methanol can be synthesised fairly easily (the ETH in Zürich has just developed a prototype) that really isn't so much of a problem. And certainly a far smaller one than the looming lack of generational capacity required for all those charging stations.
Re: Methanol as a store of energy for a fuel cell
Presumably methanol synthesised from methane
Not very green
Truck or jail cell
The wetware steerng the thing will never be allowed out.