The New GiraffeG4 Sentinel System Is What Truck Drivers Have Asked For

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Jan 09, 2024, 08:33 ET

IRVINGTON, N.Y., Jan. 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The original idea for the GiraffeG4 System came about when Frank Nugent saw a film crew measuring the distance to the ceiling with a laser, to learn how much rope was needed to hang some curtains.

After college and before working in the film business as a production manager, Frank drove a tractor trailer for A&P Supermarkets, delivering groceries all around NYC. He became personally familiar with the "Low Clearance" hazards that subway trestles provided. He hit one with his trailer.

This driver would have received an audible alert 200 yds. before they hit the bridge.

53 footer stuck on grass making a U-turn on Taconic State Parkway in NYS. Possible $10,000 in towing fees.

Frank enlisted his son Brian to help develop the GiraffeG4 System. Neither were trained as electrical, mechanical or sound engineers. So, they hired freelance engineers and did all of the on the street testing themselves, Under the subway trestles and tunnels around New York City.

Laser measuring was the first to go, wouldn't work outdoors in sunlight. Sound waves were next, weatherproof and hardy, a sensor could send a signal up and back to a subway steel beam. Timing that trip could tell them the exact height of the "Low Clearance" hazard became the method. If the height of the steel beam was 12'9", a 12'6" truck would fit, no guessing.

Eighteen months and 3 U.S. Patents later the GiraffeG4 System was ready to go. It was marketed to Truckers and Recreational Vehicles and it sold well. You'd pull the tow vehicle up to the "Low Clearance" hazard, measure it and continue to measure as you travel under the hazard.

Truckers and Fleets tell us what they really want…

Drivers told us it would be great if the GiraffeG4 could warn them of the potential "Low Clearance" hazard before they reached it. Trucking Fleets wanted to keep driver distraction to a minimum, the fleet telematics screen had to be the hub for driver information.

With this info, our team decided to upgrade the original GiraffeG4 to the new GiraffeG4 Sentinel System.

Utilizing the original weatherproof sound wave system, the new GiraffeG4 Sentinel was developed so that it is now a two-part System. A Tracking App and a User App.

On Monday, the Tracking App can pre-measure and GPS locate any potential "Low Clearance" hazard, whether it's a bridge, trestle, parking garage or tree. That information is downloaded onto a database.
On Tuesday, the User App uses that recorded height and GPS data to alert a driver with an alarm and height sign, 200 yards before they reach the hazard ahead.

GiraffeG4 Sentinel System and Fleet Telematics

The GiraffeG4 Sentinel System has been built to integrate smoothly into any fleet telematics system and provide their clients with "Low Clearance" protection they don't have now.

The GiraffeG4 Sentinel System is not a navigation tool, it is a safety tool that follows underneath the route the driver is on and provides an audible warning to any distracted, or tired, or lost driver.

The GiraffeG4 Sentinel Staff has already pre-measured and GPS located all the potential "Low Clearance" hazards in NYC, New Jersey, Chicago, Milwaukee, Connecticut and Philadelphia.

Plus, the Sentinel User App has an audible alarm at the entrance to every Parkway in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts where commercial vehicles are prohibited.

Frank Nugent
GiraffeG4 Sentinel Systems LLC
www.giraffeg4.com
877 543 1087
[email protected]

SOURCE GiraffeG4 Systems LLC