ZF’s Commercial Vehicle Solutions division has presented a scalable 360° safety concept that treats a truck and its trailer as a single perception system, fusing radar and camera data from both units into one environmental model for continuous object detection around the whole vehicle combination. The supplier showed the technologies for the first time at its Commercial Vehicle Technology Day ahead of IAA Transportation 2026 in Hanover, Germany. According to ZF, the approach combines sensing, perception, braking and steering into a coordinated system rather than a set of isolated functions, improving safety performance across driving scenarios and creating a pathway toward higher levels of automation.
Highlights
- Truck-Trailer Link: A high-speed automotive ethernet communications interface connects truck and trailer, combining radar and camera data into a single environmental model.
- Continuous 360° detection: ZF says merging truck and trailer sensor data leaves far fewer perception gaps than traditional methods, supporting assistance from highway speeds down to yard operations.
- Active intervention: Near-field functions meet European General Safety Regulation requirements for MOIS and BSIS, and can initiate braking to help avoid or mitigate collisions with vulnerable road users.
- Trailer-mounted cameras: Side cameras on the trailer support reversing assistance that can trigger automated emergency braking during docking and yard maneuvers.
How Does the Truck-Trailer Link Close Perception Gaps?
The concept extends assistance systems beyond the truck by making the trailer part of the perception system. A high-speed automotive ethernet communications interface — ZF calls it the Truck-Trailer Link — carries radar and camera data from both units so they can be combined into one environmental model. The company says the result is continuous 360° object detection with far fewer perception gaps than traditional methods, supporting consistent driver assistance across highway driving, urban traffic and low-speed yard work.
“ZF’s system approach to these challenges integrates ADAS functions across the entire vehicle combination and includes advancements that go beyond warning-based driver assistance toward active collision prevention,” says Dr. Thomas Dieckmann, Technology & Innovation Officer at ZF. The company frames the shift as a response to fleet operators expecting systems that prevent accidents, protect vulnerable road users and support more automated operation.
Active Braking Moves Past Warnings
ZF is expanding active safety functions with intervention capability built on its OnGuardMAX system. In near-field scenarios, the functions comply with European General Safety Regulation requirements for the Moving Off Information System and the Blind Spot Information System, and the company says they can go further by actively initiating braking to help avoid or mitigate imminent collisions with vulnerable road users.
For highway operation, the Highway Assist feature pairs Continuous Lane Keeping Assist with Adaptive Cruise Control and Stop and Go. In logistics environments, reversing assistance improves visibility and can actively intervene through automated emergency braking during docking and yard operations, with additional trailer-mounted side cameras supporting visibility and object detection.
Two further functions target driver state and surroundings. ZF’s Driver Monitoring System detects distraction and fatigue and can actively intervene, while acoustic siren recognition — marketed as Rescue Assist — helps drivers respond to emergency vehicles outside their field of view.
Scalable Architecture as Automation Foundation
ZF’s ADAS architecture follows a scalable design supported by next-generation radar and camera technology. The company says the new sensors deliver high-quality sensing data with low latency while leaving room to integrate additional sensors and more advanced data fusion architectures, improving detection performance and system robustness across vehicle platforms, use cases and regions.
“Scalability is key for our customers. They need safety systems that protect their investments, meet today’s requirements and evolve over time without redesigning the vehicle. Our ADAS portfolio enables this step-by-step upgradeability, allowing OEMs to add new functions and performance levels as their vehicles and business models evolve,” says Martin Mayer, Head of Product Segment ADAS and Electronics at ZF’s Commercial Vehicle Solutions division.
ZF positions its ability to combine ADAS, braking and steering into one coordinated safety system as the differentiator, arguing that integrated operation improves vehicle response and prepares the way for more automated commercial vehicles. Beyond helping customers meet current requirements such as the European General Safety Regulation, the company says the technologies exceed regulatory minimums and support OEMs pursuing higher Euro NCAP safety ratings and upcoming regulatory frameworks.
ZF at IAA Transportation 2026
ZF will show its latest commercial vehicle technologies, including automation and safety advances, at IAA Transportation 2026 in Hanover, Germany, in Hall 21, Booth B42.
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