Enhanced for 2019
MITSUBISHI has pulled the wraps off its newlook L200 pick-up, which goes on sale in the UK next year.
The new L200 gets new front end styling, an enhanced 4WD system that delivers improved off-road performance and new active safety and driver assistance systems, as well as improvements in refinement and ride comfort.
It retains its ladder frame chassis, but has new driver assistance systems including Forward Collision Mitigation, which detects pedestrians and animals as well as traffic ahead. It also gets a blind spot warning system, rear cross traffic alert and a new system called Ultrasonic Misacceleration Mitigation System (UMMS), which reduces throttle input from what the ECU detects as improper use of the accelerator when moving off or reversing in car parks and other confined spaces.
Mitsubishi Motors CEO Osamu Masuko said: “The new Mitsubishi L200 is one of our most important global strategic models. Its success will accelerate the momentum of the company’s sustainable growth. The new model brings enhancements to the durability, reliability and comfort developed over the 40 years since the introduction of the series. I am fully confident the new Mitsubishi L200 will meet the diverse needs and wishes of our customers around the world.”
The truck will make its UK debut at the CV Show 2019, which takes place from April 30 to May 2, 2019. Car manufacturer Škoda is trialling a system that it believes could revolutionise truck deliveries to and from its main production facility in Mladá Boleslav, Czech Republic, says the SMMT.
The Volkswagen-owned brand is using robotic drones to count the number of containers at the plant and determine which ones are empty and ready for collection by the factory’s suppliers.
The drones, manufactured by Czech robotics company Robodrone, use LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology to accurately identify which containers are empty and automatically count them, feeding data back to the plant’s logistics team, who can then arrange for the exact number of trucks to be brought in to collect the containers, making the operation much easier to plan and more efficient.
The drone can fly up to 20 km/h (13mph) and has the Skoda are using drones to count containers at it main production facility ability to carry a load of up to 5kg. A LIDAR sensor captures up to 300,000 images per second and navigates using a 3D map. The drone detects and counts the equipment containers using specially designed algorithms developed for Škoda.
If the technology continues to prove successful following the test phase, which has just completed its first six months on trial, it could then be expanded to be used in the wider logistics industry, including road freight, air and sea ports.
During the next development phase, the drone will get its own ‘nest’ and the battery-powered device will then be able to autonomously navigate to a charging station, meaning it will require no human intervention whatsoever in order to process information.