Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/357935
26 COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | AUGUST 2014 S peculation about autonomous – or "driverless" – vehicles has been commonplace in the trucking industry for years. Daimler now has made the concept a reality. At a July 3 global press conference and demonstration in Magdeburg, Germany, Daimler hosted its Shaping Future Transportation 2014 conference, and the show's decided star was "Highway Pilot," a fully functioning autonomous truck operating at real-world speeds on a nearby special section of the Autobahn. Daimler said the autonomous truck could be ready for real-world deployment by 2025. Daimler said the new truck autopilot system does not diminish or eliminate the truck driver's role, but rather turns him or her into a "transport manager." Daimler said the system, once fully fleshed out and in real-world use, will offer drivers an "attractive mobile workplace offering scope for new professional skills." Daimler said the system is not a new truck or even a new product, but instead a shift in the way the transport system will develop. According to Wolfgang Bernhard, Daimler Trucks' global head, the new system will offer the highest possible level of traffic safety while con- serving resources, reducing emissions and eliminating physical and mental stress commonly experienced by drivers in tough road and traffic conditions. In its current configuration, Highway Pilot communicates with both its environment and surrounding vehicles while driving autonomously. A driver remains at the control – much like an airline pilot while an aircraft is on autopi- lot – to take over whenever necessary. Uwe Clausen, director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics, said the autonomous system is designed to take over and allow the driver to monitor vehicle performance in particularly stressful situa- tions such has heavily congested traffic, or to allow the driver to rest in monotonous or boring environments such as long interstate stretches where little input is required. Moreover, Clausen described Highway Pilot as the cen- terpiece of a new concept in freight logistics, as the system serves as the meeting point and optimization center for a host of transportation demands. The system collects and analyzes data in the overall context of the logistics train and transport system; it processes data ranging from weather, road conditions, vehicle speed and traffic congestion while navigating and communicating with the shipper, the receiver, the fleet and other vehicles around the truck. The result, Clausen said, "will be freight efficiency levels which would have seemed virtually impossible only a few years ago." How the system works The truck, a specially-equipped Mercedes Actros tractor-trailer, is fitted with front-facing radar sensors and cameras that scan the road ahead and are tied into a Lane Keeping Assist system. Additional sensors track areas to the sides and rear and are so precise that not only can they recognize the road's edge by its marker lines, they also can identify the course of the road surface by detecting guardrails or vegetation. A vehicle-to-vehicle communication system transmits con- tinuous telemetry to other cars and trucks while receiving and processing their information in return. Even if another vehicle does not have a communication system, Highway Pilot tracks and monitors it. The communication system's range is about 500 meters. Since all vehi- cles are speaking to each other, they can respond simultaneously to any threats, from something as common- place as another car merging onto the highway or slowing traffic to some- thing more serious such as highway debris or an accident. Additionally, Highway Pilot allows a truck to talk to the infrastructure itself. Traffic control centers monitor the flow of vehicles and can adjust traffic signals proactively to optimize vehicle flow and reduce congestion or even open up additional lanes. Both the truck and the driver are alerted to road conditions in advance and are able to prepare for them. Once Highway Pilot is activated, the truck driver is able to rotate his seat 45 degrees to the vehicle's passenger side to a working position or recline into a rest position. The driver then can use a tablet computer to work on other tasks or communicate with the outside world, and always has the option of taking control away from Highway Pilot. An alert system warns the driver well in advance of reaching a high- way exit that they will need to resume control – much like a pilot preparing to land an airplane. Daimler cautioned that much work remains to be done on the legal, infrastructure and technology fronts before a system such as Highway Pilot can enter real-world use. – Jack Roberts 'Driverless' trucks on the way Daimler unveils 'Highway Pilot' prototype At Daimler's Shaping Future Transportation 2014 conference, the company showcased High- way Pilot, a fully-functioning autonomous truck designed to operate at real-world speeds.