Nevada Issues Licenses for Self-Driving Trucks
This week Daimler gained the first license to operate self-driving trucks in Nevada.
The state certified two “Freightliner Inspiration Trucks” for regular operation on public roads, the company said this week. Both trucks are based on the series-produced US Freightliner Cascadia model, but with added technology to offer autonomous driving. The “Highway Pilot technology,” as it is called, uses front-facing radar and a stereo camera system, allowing the trucks to operate at highway cruising speeds as well as stop-and-go traffic. The trucks will adhere to speed limits automatically and regulate distances between the next vehicle using both a high- and low-angle sensor to monitor traffic immediately ahead and up to 820 feet in the distance.
Daimler’s Freightliner Inspiration Trucks still require a qualified truck driver to operate. The autonomous technology they employ can be activated once the truck reaches a highway and is not capable of passing other vehicles, changing lanes or exiting the highway.
Because of the technology’s semi-autonomous nature, Daimler said it will not threaten truck driving jobs. Instead, the company said it expects the system to relieve a large portion of the workload associated with those jobs, opening truck drivers to fulfill other tasks that dispatchers currently fill.
Daimler first demonstrated the technology last year in July on a closed section of the autobahn with its “Future Truck 2025.”
Luke is an energetic automotive journalist who spends his time covering industry news and crawling the internet for the latest breaking story. When he isn't in the office, Luke can be found obsessively browsing used car listings, drinking scotch at his favorite bar and dreaming of what to drive next, though the list grows a lot faster than his bank account. He's always on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> looking for a good car conversation. Find Luke on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> and <A title="Luke on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/112531385961538774338?rel=author">Google+</A>.
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