ALK Technologies announced the latest release of its CoPilot Truck in-cab navigation solution. With improvements to the truck-specific routing profile feature, the company said the update makes it easier for fleets to create and follow optimized routes based on vehicle size and load, to enable safety and compliance on the road. The company added it also provides fleet managers with remote configuration capabilities for tighter control over the routes drivers follow and eliminates the need for associated driver interaction.“We see the connection between the back office and the cab as a key factor in a fleet’s successful deployment of in-cab navigation, and this CoPilot Truck release further supports our objective to align the two in a meaningful way for fleets,” said Dan Titus, vice president, business development –enterprise solutions. “With CoPilot Truck’s Web-based back office tool, CoPilot FleetPortal, we’re providing fleet managers with greater management of the routes executed in-cab so that drivers can stay focused on the road and avoid the risk of costly fines or collisions, which would otherwise negatively impact their CSA scores. We’ve also come a long way to address the operational requirements of fleets that support multiple vehicle sizes and loads.”With this update, CoPilot Truck introduces a new set of default vehicle types that better fit the routing needs of light-, medium- or heavy-duty trucks. According to the company, if multiple profiles are created and saved, CoPilot Truck will alert a driver to select the correct profile for that particular trip, ensuring safety and compliance with regulations. CoPilot Truck will now also alert drivers if they enter a custom vehicle dimension that may require a permit to help avoid errors and ensure compliance when creating routing profiles. The software update also debuts a new darker in-cab user interface on the display to further reduce driver distraction and minimize ambient screen glare during the day or night.New remote configuration settings in CoPilot FleetPortal allow driver managers to specify and send Out-of-Route thresholds by vehicle group, as well as to update custom routing profiles, PC MILER Avoids/Favors, road closures, and custom POI sets used by CoPilot Truck in-cab, according to the company.“Synchronization of this information can be set to occur as frequently as every 30 minutes to once every 24 hours,” according to the company. “The option to restrict access to routing profiles is also now available, which gives drivers less to worry about and enables fleets to ensure that the correct routing profiles will be used to generate optimal routes as well as to reduce the risk of driving on truck restricted roads.”The CoPilot Truck update also enables small fleets and owner operators using ALK’s back office PC MILER routing, mileage and mapping software to send planned routes created in PC MILER directly to ALK’s CoPilot Truck Smartphone and Tablet app for compliant route execution. The app is available for iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Windows XP and Windows Mobile platforms.