Transportation on Autopilot: A Semi With a Mind of Its Own
Imagine driving down the highway and passing a semi. Looking to your right, you notice the driver doesn't have her hands on the wheel! According to NPR's recent story, "Coming Soon To A Highway Near You: A Semitruck With A Brain," this day may sooner than we realize.
Freightliner, owned by automaker Daimler unveiled a semi-truck that drives itself. They've named their prototype, The Inspiration:
As you can see, this does not mean the truck driver will be replaced by a robot anytime soon - not by a long shot. Daimler and Freightliner have assured the industry that every Inspiration semitruck is manned by a truck driver at all times who is trained to take the wheel and assist when and if something should go wrong or malfuncation. The piloted navigation in the vehicle will serve the driver by helping the vehicle stay within the confines of the lane, maintain its speed and safe distance from other vehicles, and can even counteract crosswinds while traveling along the highway. The innovation goes far beyond alerting the driver of impending danger, and can now access to the vehicle's mechanics, making necessary accomodations.
The vehicle is designed to help the truck driver safely assume logistics responsibilities while traveling and make the trip more calculated and precise - which ultimately will help cut fuel usage and could allow trucks to communicate while traveling in convoys. During its unveiling, Daimler mentioned that many of these features are built to improve highway travel - leaving the driver responsible in all other capacities. Daimler's piloted technology is still in protoype mode and will not be available for at least a decade. With that said, the company is confident that their strides in autonomous driving will continue to improve and these steps are definitive steps toward the future of America's freight industry.
This article includes excerpts from NPR's interview with Alex Davies, Associate Editor for Wired. You can access the article in its entirety here: http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2015/05/10/405598189/coming-soon-to-a-highway-near-you-a-semi-truck-with-a-brain. Video provided by Freightliner Trucks.