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Self-Driving Trucks are Coming, as Daimler Showcases New Technology |
21.07.2014 08:10 |
Метки (тэги, tags): Does the Perhaps, as German auto and truck maker Daimler said last week it was targeting 2025 for release of a self-driving truck into the marketplace. The Mercedes-Benz Future Truck 2025 has successfully completed its first journey on a highway in In addition to the Mercedes brand truck in Europe, the company sells Freightliner brand tractors in the The system makes use of already-available driver assist technologies, such as automatic braking, stability control and lane-warning systems, but adds a variety of radar systems to the mix. In order to allow the truck to autonomously drive alongside other cars, what Daimler calls the Highway Pilot uses a combination of vehicle-to-vehicle communication via Wi-Fi (with a range of
At the media event demonstration, the truck drove itself on a highway in
However, the technology currently requires a driver for lane changes and passing other vehicles on the road. But Mercedes is working hard on those problems. A video of the test shows the truck driving down an empty highway before the camera cuts to the driver, who promptly takes his eyes off the road and his hands off the wheel to operate an iPad. Mercedes-Benz says the highway pilot system will save drivers from having to perform monotonous tasks, while giving them "more time for tasks that were previously handled by office workers at shipping companies." In other words, to find financial benefit from the technology that will still require a driver in the tractor, drivers will be performing office duties while the truck takes itself down the highway. This is surely going to change the profile of drivers, who would still need commercial driver's licenses, but would need to both enjoy and be good at non-driving activities as well. The heavy-duty Actros truck drove back and forth along a stretch of the A14 Autobahn that's currently closed due to construction. During the 45-minute trip, the truck reduced speed and swerved to the side of the road as a police-car model raced past as part of the test. "We aim to be the No. 1 manufacturer in this market of the future, which we believe will offer solid revenue and earnings potential," Wolfgang Bernhard, head of the Daimler Trucks division, said at the driving demonstration near the eastern German city of Magdeburg. "We don't only talk about innovation, we implement it to underline our leadership position." What Will be the Legislative and Regulatory Hurdles? As with drone parcel deliveries and container ships controlled by joy sticks by "captains" on land the technology to produce self-driver trucks is likely to race far ahead of legislation and regulations that will give the OK and set the rules for use of such vehicles. Key to that in turn will be collaboration across countries to agree on a set of rules so that truck manufacturers can design to one basic set of requirements, versus needing to meet different rules in every jurisdiction, which would be prohibitively costly. In addition to the changes in driver profiles, self-driving trucks may help to extend driving times between drivers' obligatory breaks, reduce downtime for repairs and lower insurance premiums. There is much activity and R&D in this space. For example,
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Обновлено 21.07.2014 08:12 |