An upgrade from the earlier generation of Fusion as standard equipment on the International LT Series and RH Series, the enhanced Fusion system delivers improved collision mitigation and stationary vehicle braking; multilane automatic emergency braking; highway departure braking and enhanced Adaptive Cruise Control.
The enhanced Wingman Fusion system now includes the capacity to apply increased braking power on the tractor and trailer compared to the original Fusion system, but retains the capabilities of the system’s earlier versions, such as stationary object alerts, overspeed alerts and intervention, lane departure warning, and prioritized alerts to help reduce driver distraction.
International has also added the updated Bendix BlindSpotter Side Object Detection System features as options for the LT Series and RH Series. International enhanced the BlindSpotter system through improved integration with the vehicle’s controller area network, enabling a wider (150-degree) range of coverage capable of detecting objects up to 20 feet in front of and 20 feet behind the BlindSpotter radar. The coverage zone also extends up to 10 feet to the right of the vehicle.
By operating in two modes (highway speeds and lower speeds) the updated BlindSpotter system has an increased ability to filter stationary objects, like guardrails at highway speeds, and narrows the range for alerts without filtering stationary objects or infrastructure at speeds under 20 mph. The updated BlindSpotter system maintains the look, size, position and mounting hardware of its radar and in-cab display units.
Bendix Wingman Fusion with Active Cruise with Braking (ACB) Stop and Driver Go and Lane Keep Assist are two new systems that will be offered as options on both the LT and RH Series. International is the only OEM to offer Bendix Wingman Fusion with ACB Stop and Driver Go, which allows for Adaptive Cruise Control to remain active down to low vehicle speeds, including full-stop. Once at stop, if the driver applies throttle and reaches 7 miles per hour, the system can re-accelerate the vehicle to the cruise control set speed, if there is no object detected ahead.
“ACB Stop and Driver Go is a driver-satisfying feature in heavy stop-and-go traffic, while the Comfort Braking is another enhancement of the system that provides smoother application of the foundation brakes,” said Charles Chilton, vice president of Navistar’s Product Strategy and Planning function.
Lane Keep Assist – another optional system offered on the LT and RH – supports the driver with assisted steering torque to remain within the lane of travel when a pending unintended lane departure is recognized. The system’s active steering functionality dynamically adjusts steering effort based on vehicle speed, allowing lighter steering at low speeds to aid in maneuvering in parking lot situations, and heaver/firmer steering at higher speed to aid in control of the vehicle. The system, built on a Sheppard steering gear – a company Bendix purchased this year – that is already standard on many Navistar vehicles, also includes compensation to counter cross winds or road crowning, steering wheel return-to-center assist, and active damping to reduce steering wheel oscillations and improve feel.
