Courtesy of Mish.
Every time I post on autonomous trucks, I get dozens of emails from people telling me that self-driving trucks will not happen for at least 10 more years, if ever. People cite insurance, driving skills, city traffic, changing road patterns, faulty radar, etc.
My typical reply is things will likely happen far faster than even I envision. And so here we are, at least a year before I thought possible (but 15 years before some naysayers thought).
First Real Road-Legal Autonomous Big Rig
TruckYeah reports Freightliner Just Revealed The First Real Road-Legal Autonomous Big Rig.
The Freightliner “Inspiration Truck” will be the first autonomous commercial truck to drive on American roads. Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval and Daimler Chairman Wolfgang Bernhard just bolted on its Autonomous Vehicle license plate to prove it’s the real deal, and it’s already been spotted in action.
In a Q&A session going on right now, Bernhard has explained that the Inspiration Truck will still have a driver, but that person’s purpose will be solely to monitor the truck’s systems and intervene in the event of a malfunction.
The truck requires no special hypothetical infrastructure, and it’s able to read road signs and traffic signals on its own.
Nevada License AU 010
World’s First Self-Driving Semi-Truck Hits the Road
Wired reports World’s First Self-Driving Semi-Truck Hits the Road.
“AU 010.”
License plates are rarely an object of attention, but this one’s special—the funky number is the giveaway. That’s why Daimler bigwig Wolfgang Bernhard and Nevada governor Brian Sandoval are sharing a stage, mugging for the phalanx of cameras, together holding the metal rectangle that will, in just a minute, be slapped onto the world’s first officially recognized self-driving truck.
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