TruckandTrackWinter2018.indd

41 / 76

Winter 2018 Truck and Track 41
TACHOGRAPH ANALYSIS
DTCO 4.0: The Smart Digital Tachograph
Continental developed the DTCO 4.0 under its VDO product
brand to meet the new statutory requirements. Here’s a quick-
read overview:
DSRC antenna technology
■■The EU guideline calls for a standardised DSRC (Dedicated
Short Range Communication) interface that makes on-road
inspections more efficient for all parties involved.
■■After suitable authentication, the DTCO 4.0 wirelessly transmits
the following from the moving vehicle to the devices of the
inspection officer: vehicle and calibration data, information on
safety violations and any malfunctions that have occurred.
■■The DTCO 4.0 transmits data via its small windscreen-mounted
antenna. Continental is forging new paths in technology.
Instead of integrating all the intelligence for DSRC functionality
in the antenna, as is usual, Continental has integrated it in the
tachograph. Furthermore – unlike other solutions found in
today’s market – this did not require any modifications to the
vehicle’s own electrical/electronic systems. This makes low-cost
and problem-free retrofitting possible.
GNSS interface
■■The regulation specifies the interface to a global navigation
satellite system (GNSS). The DTCO 4.0 supports the European
GNSS Galileo as well as GPS and Glonass.
■■The position data is automatically logged at the start and end
of the shift as well as after three hours of driving time and after
every change in activity.
■■The advantages: better transparency in monitoring; in addition,
position data taken directly from the tachograph can be used to
assist in fleet management.
ITS interface
■■The ITS (Intelligent Transportation Systems) interface provides a
lot of useful information from the DTCO 4.0 via a standardised
interface.
■■More than 70 types of information is available over this
interface, which enables evenmore efficient transport planning.
■■Lawmakers have only specified the ITS interface as an option –
however, Continental has implemented it as a standard feature.
New public key encryption system
■■In the future, enhanced cryptographic security mechanisms will
be required which necessitate a new encryption technology.
■■Affected by this are communications between the speed
sensor and the digital tachograph as well as tachograph map
communications.
■■Continental has developed a new KITAS 4.0 encoder. Combined
with the DTCO 4.0, it represents a system unit and fulfills very
stringent legal requirements.
■■The maps now support two encryption technologies. Therefore,
existing driver cards and business cards can continue to be used
with DTCO 4.0 up to their expiration date.
Products and services related to the tachograph
■■For its new DCTCO 4.0 product, Continental has adapted its
download tools, the VDO TIS-Web fleet management solution
and its tester devices and training programs for workshops to
the new statutory requirements.
requirements. “With the new public-key encryption system,
the DTCO 4.0 is already equipped with future-oriented security
technology,” explains Dirk Gandras, Program Manager TTS Vehicle
Units at Continental. Tachograph card communication will also be
encrypted in a new way: in the future, the cards will support two
encryption technologies, so existing driver and company cards can
be used with the DTCO 4.0 until they expire.
Trusted and authenticated data creates the basis for
cooperating services
The world of logistics today is facing great challenges – online
trading has fundamentally changed user behavior, the complexity
of the logistics chain is increasing, and new mobility concepts are
emerging. “Trucking companies and fleet managers must be able
to react flexibly in this environment. Digitalisation, networking and
real-time data will play a key role in the future of the industry,” says
Dr. Lutz Scholten. Fleet managers benefit from a standardised ITS
(Intelligent Transportation Systems) interface which provides more
than 70 different kinds of information from the DTCO 4.0 – and
this makes transport planning even more efficient. Legally, the ITS
interface is only optional – but Continental has implemented it as
standard.
However, fleet service providers and the authorities can also
benefit from the new technical possibilities. Direct toll processing
is possible with Continental’s DTCO 4.0, for example, even with an
integrated, on-board weighing system. Thanks to the integrated
DSRC connection, the technical prerequisites for applying
country-specific functions for toll billing and toll monitoring in the
tachograph are already in place, so the tachograph designers make
it possible to dispense with additional on-board units. The toll can
also be made fairer at the same time if weight data collected by
sensors on the axles and sent to the tachograph in encrypted form
is simultaneously transmitted. In the future, the actual axle load
would then be the decisive factor in the calculation of the toll.
Many other applications are also conceivable if the secure data
from the tachograph is passed on to other data processing
systems: information about the tank contents, for example, could
be determined with secure level sensors and sent to the systems
of fuel card companies. Apps could also use information from the
DTCO to guide drivers to a nearby gas station or to a parking lot
that is accessible at the start of rest periods. Another possibility
is to provide the data to service providers for payroll purposes,
or to insurance providers for the individual calculation of rates.
Continental has already developed interfaces that enable the
exchange of authenticated, trustworthy data from the tachograph.
The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was also
addressed during the overall system development. This enables
fleet managers and service providers to very quickly identify the
tachograph data that is subject to the GDPR and requires the
driver’s approval.
The basis for the processing of the tachograph data described
here is Continental’s TIS-Web fleet management software. Every
possible service is based on the high protection standards of all the
data acquired by the tachograph. “With the DTCO 4.0, the amount
of GDPR-compliant data with which we can support higher-level
fleet management systems in a targeted manner is increasing
significantly. This also increases the number of possibilities,”
says Dr. Lutz Scholten. “We’re looking forward to supporting the
transport industry in its implementation of new ideas with our
competence in tachographs and telematics.”
Continental Automotive will be hosting a number of seminars at
the Commercial Vehicle Show 2019. To register your interest in
attending, please visit