In the past few weeks we’ve seen some new developments in the autonomous car department. Even the University of Michigan just built an entire fake city to test out this up-and-coming technology.
Now, Mercedes Benz is taking autonomous driving one step further with its introduction of the “Truck of the Future,” a driverless freight truck.
(Image via Daimler)
Daimler, the parent company of Mercedes Benz demonstrated the Future Truck 2025 reaching pretty high speeds on Germany’s Autobahn highway over the weekend.
The truck employs an Intelligent Highway Pilot system that allows a human driver to switch control over to the truck and ride hands-free at speeds of up to 52 mph.
The system combines truck-to-truck communication via Wi-Fi, radar technology on both sides and front of the truck, and a camera mounted to the front windshield.
What driverless trucks mean to the world
(Image via Daimler)
Daimler and Mercedes are still developing better assistance features so that the trucks will eventually be able to communicate with each other and be aware of their surroundings. This will make it possible for the trucks to drive themselves, drive closer and take up less road space, and deliver goods more punctually. Self-driving trucks could also eliminate human error and change the transport industry.
We probably won’t see any driverless trucks on the road before 2025, provided laws are passed to allow autonomous vehicles on the roads with us.
Watch the Mercedes Benz autonomous truck make its debut.
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