Since several years, the department MDF at Fraunhofer ITWM is investigating the analysis of geo-referenced data to support and improve the derivation of design loads as well as the assessment of energy efficiency by statistical reasoning.
The approach is mainly motivated by the desire to understand usage variability and the resulting scatter in loads or fuel consumption and to provide methods for making use of that information within vehicle development. This is of special importance for commercial vehicle fleets in different markets.