A world first: self-driving semi-truck hits the highway

In an effort to develop autonomous vehicles, Daimler Trucks has fitted its Highway Pilot self-driving system into a Mercedes Benz Actros truck, and steered it down a stretch of Germany’s Autobahn 8 near Stuttgart. This marks the first time a company has tested an autonomous production semi on public roads.

Similar to the advantages of self-driving cars, Daimler says improvements in driver safety are a reason to place the technology in a semi-truck. Autonomous vehicles can reduce driver fatigue, limit mistakes, and put an end to distractions. When it comes to changing gears, accelerating, and braking, the system is more efficient, resulting in less fuel and carbon emissions.

During testing, the vehicle used a crew consisting of Daimler executive Dr. Wolfgang Bernhard and Winfried Kretschmann, Minister-President of the state of Baden-Württemberg, to keep watch. The truck could steer itself down the highway using a combination of radar, a stereo camera array, and off-the-shelf systems such as cruise control.

Highway Pilot uses a short-range radar to access the vehicle's surroundings up to 230 ft (70 m) away in a forward-facing 130-degree arc, while a long-range unit scans out to 820 ft (250 m) in an 18-degree arc. Combined, these work in conjunction with Active Cruise Control, Active Brake Assist, and a stereo camera that identifies road markings and guides steering.

While Daimler’s system adopts self-driving, Highway Pilot is similar to an autopilot used in aviation, in which the driver must be ready to take control at any time. The system prompts the driver to do so if there is a change in weather or road conditions; if he or she does not respond in time, the truck is brought to a stop.

To conduct the demonstration, the company had to obtain a special permit from Germany’s road traffic regulator, allowing the truck to be driven semi-autonomously on highways at speeds of up to 80 km/h (50 mph).

“Safe testing in real traffic is absolutely decisive for the development of this technology to market maturity,” said Bernhard. “We are now able to proceed with this.”

The opportunity to test out the technology in real-life scenarios only speeds up the process in having autonomous semi-trucks regularly appear on the highway.

Via Gizmag