UC3M’s professor José Luís San Román also says that the new system, dubbed fBrake, is faster and cheaper than conventional equipment and processes.
San Román makes the point that CVs must, by law, be carrying cargo to determine brake system efficiency – which presents problems in light of logistics, particularly where they normally transport refuse, hazardous materials or live animals.
And he adds that alternative inspection methods require simultaneously measuring the pressure of the brake mechanism and braking force in order to extrapolate maximum braking power.
fBrake changes all that, he says, allows trucks and trailers with different “It isn’t necessary to measure the pressure, which saves time during the inspection... And, since pressure sensors are not needed, there is also no need to run a metrological test.”
And he adds that the new software can be installed in a tablet or an inspection line computer: inspection data is entered and braking efficiency when the vehicle is loaded is given via vehicular dynamic simulation.
“Combining inspection with a conventional brake meter with a simulation model allows us to guarantee how a vehicle will brake,” insists San Román.
“We have developed this innovation with the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism and with the collaboration of the Junta de Extremadura (government of Extramadura)”, he states.
In fact, the system has already been validated and approved, and is being used in the autonomous communities of Extremadura and Galicia, where more than 1,000 vehicles have passed inspection using this method.