Phillips Innovations will act as an accelerator for bringing products into the Phillips platform by collaborating with some of the technology solutions providers that are developing products for the transportation industry, announced Rob Phillips, chief executive officer of Phillips Industries and founder and chief executive officer, Phillips Connect, during a press conference at the TMC Annual Meeting and Transportation Technology Exhibition.

“We’re all about collaboration. As we continue to build momentum in the smart trailer space, we continue to bring additional technologies to our platform and extend our reach further by pioneering new technologies,” said Rob Phillips during his presentation. “We are investing heavily in the launch of Philips Innovations because as our industry evolves, we’re presented with an entirely new set of challenges that we can solve with the right partners.”

At launch, Phillips Innovations will have two key areas of focus: sustainable energy technologies, including solar power and electrification products for trucks and trailers; and patented vision systems, including a backup camera using open-source software and mobile applications to be released in Q2 2023.

Joining Phillips Innovations are the following partners.

Merlin Solar

Merlin’s exclusive partnership with Phillips Innovations will bring to market the most advanced, purpose-built solar-powered solutions for smart trucks and trailers. The Merlin solar-grid patented technology is currently being used to power creature comforts in the cab of Class 8 vehicles and on trailers to power liftgate batteries. Initially, Phillips Innovations will develop solar-power kits to market through the OEM dealer network and aftermarket distributors. The partnership will progress to marketing options for powering reefers and electric drive axles as it increases market share on trailers and becomes a viable option for trucks, Phillips noted.

ProEV

This alliance combines Phillips Industries’ experience in Class 8 commercial truck and trailer components with ProEV’s expertise in high-voltage harnesses and electric vehicle technology to develop high-voltage and cable customer harness assemblies for electric and fuel-cell Class 8 trucks and trailers.

Spartan Radar

As Spartan Radar’s exclusive partner for Class 8 trucks and trailers, Phillips Innovations will launch trailer blindspot detection devices and layer its patented radar technologies onto its trailer cameras to drastically improve situational awareness for trailers to reduce accidents. This partnership combines the Phillips connected trailer, safety lights, and vision technologies with Spartan’s advancements in radar.