Daimler Trucks and Waymo are to develop autonomous trucks for public roads. These are trucks with SAE Level 4 technology. This will allow the vehicles to drive themselves under certain conditions, without the driver needing to be able to intervene.
The technology will be incorporated into trucks made by Freightliner, a subsidiary of Daimler Trucks that focuses mainly on the US market. Specifically, it involves a Freightliner Cascadia.
The vehicle must offer level 4 autonomy according to SAE's definition. This definition reads: Level 4 - high level of automation: when enabled, the autonomous driving system performs all dynamic driving tasks for the driver under certain weather and road conditions. Driver attention is not required.
Technology from Waymo
Details about the vehicle are lacking. What is clear, however, is that the model will use technology from Waymo. This company has long been active with autonomous vehicles, which have now covered over 20 million miles (over 32 million kilometres) on US public roads.
Daimler Trucks plans to make the autonomous Freightliner Cascadia available to US customers in the next few years. The company also reports that it will explore expansion to other markets and brands together with Waymo in the near future.
Future Truck 2025
The truck manufacturer has been focusing on developing autonomous trucks for years. The company presented the futuristic Future Truck 2025 in 2014. This concept model can drive autonomously on highways. For instance, the vehicle itself ensures that it stays within the lines of its lane and brakes if slower traffic is approached. Also, the concept model itself determines the best route to its location.
The company drove an autonomous truck for the first time on public roads in 2015 in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. At the time, it was an Actros model equipped with Highway Pilot technology, which covered a distance of 14 kilometres.
Freightliner Inspiration Truck
In the same year, the company also received a licence to test the Freightliner Inspiration Truck on US public roads. Brian Sandoval, governor of Nevada, and Dr Wolfgang Bernhard, Daimler board member, took the first ride in the truck on US Interstate 15 (I15) near Las Vegas in May 2015. Like the Actros model, this Freightliner Inspiration Truck features Highway Pilot technology.
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
