Freightliner Just Revealed The First Real Road-Legal Autonomous Big Rig

[alister]

Driverless vehicles will not be operating on public roads at any point during our or our children's lifetimes.

I don't doubt that the technology might soon exist but we are a long way from the point where the general public would allow them.

Here in hoping my current car last long enough for me to buy a driverless. Car next. I would be happy with it just being able to handle interstate roads which some companies say is just a few years away.

The public may not have much choice in the matter as the technology is already creeping into cars now.

 

[cosmo1]

Here in hoping my current car last long enough for me to buy a driverless. Car next. I would be happy with it just being able to handle interstate roads which some companies say is just a few years away.

The public may not have much choice in the matter as the technology is already creeping into cars now.

They are already here, to some extent:

Disclaimer: Do not try this at home, kids.

 

[oldngray]

With all of the variables involved an autonomous vehicles would be orders of magnitude more difficult than something like ORION. How is that ORION working out for you?

 

[alister]

They are already here, to some extent:

Disclaimer: Do not try this at home, kids.

I can't afford an infiniti. I need to wait for the ford or Chevy class

 

[alister]

With all of the variables involved an autonomous vehicles would be orders of magnitude more difficult than something like ORION. How is that ORION working out for you?

I think you have misled into believing that you work for a technology company.

 

[oldngray]

I think you have misled into believing that you work for a technology company.

UPS buys technology companies when it wants tech but now it is a logistics company more than anything else.

 

[Brownslave688]

Driverless vehicles will not be operating on public roads at any point during our or our children's lifetimes.

I don't doubt that the technology might soon exist but we are a long way from the point where the general public would allow them.

The technology already exists.

You underestimate the general public. A majority of the public will accept them within 5-10 years of the first one being for sale.

Sure you'll have a small percent that will never trust them.

 

[Brownslave688]

In the winter, when roads get bad, how will it put chains on the tires when needed?
It will know when to pull into a truck stop for more fuel, and refuel itself how?
It stops at a weigh station and is overweight, the cops just toss a violation notice on the front seat?
If it commits a traffic violation, it will know to pull over for the cops?
If during a random Highway Patrol stop for safety inspection, it has to be pulled out of service, how do the Cops make it stay where it is, who do they notify, and how do they take it out of service?
These are questions for years from now, when there is no person inside the truck at all.
And, at the current point in time, how does the poor soul in the truck let it know it has to pull over, cause the guy has to pee?

Are you serious?

With the exception of maybe driving in snow every other scenario would take an engineer less than a day to figure out.

 

[Brownslave688]

With all of the variables involved an autonomous vehicles would be orders of magnitude more difficult than something like ORION. How is that ORION working out for you?

Driving a car is a very different and much easier engineering problem than delivering 100 stops.

 

[oldngray]

Driving a car is a very different and much easier engineering problem than delivering 100 stops.

Driving a car is simpler in a controlled environment but that changes when it is in a real world situation where unexpected events can occur.

 

[Brownslave688]

Driving a car is simpler in a controlled environment but that changes when it is in a real world situation where unexpected events can occur.

But that's the thing. A driverless car reads what's happening in real time. Orion gives us a plan at the beginning of the day and does not update at all depending on real life circumstances.

Cars now can drive on the highway all day long no problem. They have admitted driving in city traffic is more complicated but expect to have all of those issues worked out in the next year or two.


I'm not saying we will all be replaced in 5 years but cars that drive themselves are a much much closer reality than many want to admit.

 

[Dracula]

I can't speak for other trucking companies, but where I'm at, most road accidents are caused by other drivers. Even if the technology can solve the teething problems, what happens when other drivers start hitting driver-less trucks? How will the drone react to being hit, because that WILL happen a lot. Any package or feeder driver has stories every week, sometimes every DAY about how they nearly got hit by some idiot driver. Honestly, I see pilot-less passenger planes earlier than trucks. With planes, you can almost take the human out of the equation completely.

But Brownslave688, I think you are wrong about the public accepting this, both in trucks or planes. I think we are a couple of generations away from having automated transportation systems. Why? Because--and this is just my opinion--it seems like humans and automated machines would not mix, whether in the sky or on the highways. And humans control the strings.

 

[FrigidAdCorrector]

Driverless vehicles will not be operating on public roads at any point during our or our children's lifetimes.

I don't doubt that the technology might soon exist but we are a long way from the point where the general public would allow them.

We allow aircraft to operate essentially without operators. Why not vehicles?

It will know when to pull into a truck stop for more fuel, and refuel itself how?

You program in all the truck stops and when to pull over when the fuel level reaches a certain point. Or you just figure out the mileage and make it part of the route. The fuel companies will have someone to fuel them. No company is going to miss an opportunity to sell 100 gallons of diesel, especially when they can charge more for fueling it.

It stops at a weigh station and is overweight, the cops just toss a violation notice on the front seat?

You send it in the mail or electronically.

I think people are seriously underestimating this. I don't think in 10 years we are going to layoff all the feeder drivers. But most of the problems mentioned aren't that hard to fix. Visibility is the big issue, and that will be solved by putting cameras around the vehicle and the trailer. Your power connection to the trailer will include a connection to the cameras. It is the future, whether we like it or not.

 

[Brownslave688]

We allow aircraft to operate essentially without operators. Why not vehicles?

You program in all the truck stops and when to pull over when the fuel level reaches a certain point. Or you just figure out the mileage and make it part of the route. The fuel companies will have someone to fuel them. No company is going to miss an opportunity to sell 100 gallons of diesel, especially when they can charge more for fueling it.

You send it in the mail or electronically.

I think people are seriously underestimating this. I don't think in 10 years we are going to layoff all the feeder drivers. But most of the problems mentioned aren't that hard to fix. Visibility is the big issue, and that will be solved by putting cameras around the vehicle and the trailer. Your power connection to the trailer will include a connection to the cameras. It is the future, whether we like it or not.

I hate to be that guy too but. I see 1 common theme here.


Old guys. It'll never happen. Blah blah blah.


Young guys. It's coming faster than you could ever imagine.

 

[browner89]

We allow aircraft to operate essentially without operators. Why not vehicles?

Air space isn't congested with other motorists with ~12ft wide pathway restrictions, precise turns, and people who don't understand proper following distances and cut you off.

I'm not saying the technology can't work, but comparing it to auto-pilot on an aircraft doesn't work.

This is still scary to think that nobody is driving the 40 ton truck 100 ft behind me.

 

[Dracula]

You send it in the mail or electronically.

That's not how it works at the scales. If you are overweight, you're going nowhere. The whole purpose of checking for overweight rigs is because they damage the roads. If you drive by scales and see rigs parked, they're not sitting there for convenience. They're shut down. A driver-less truck would be no exception, unless they change the laws.

I hate to be that guy too but. I see 1 common theme here.


Old guys. It'll never happen. Blah blah blah.


Young guys. It's coming faster than you could ever imagine.

I'm an older guy. But I'm also trying to think this through. If you think this is only a few years down the road, I believe you're mistaken. Right now, this truck is nothing more than a prototype. There is an enormous difference between getting one of these to work in a demonstrative run and a real world run. A whole bag of laws will need to be written and re-written. It takes a whole hell of lot for a driver to get a CDL.

Do you really think they are just going to wave a hand and let an 80,000 pound truck be driven down a crowded highway without a driver? And I'll retire before I take a job "monitoring" one of these trucks in the front seat.

And as some have mentioned, the liability trucking companies will take on will be enormous. Because it's not a matter of if, but WHEN one of these rigs has a major accident. Yes, so do drivers. But drivers are held responsible for their actions. And while computers make tremendous strides in what they can do, the ones we have in our rigs now are decades away from even coming close to operating anything remotely. Right now, they are nothing more than a monitoring device.

We allow aircraft to operate essentially without operators. Why not vehicles?

Very selected aircraft. Drones that carry no humans. Talk to me when a pilot-less airplane flies 350 passengers from one city to another.

 

[TooTechie]

Ups wouldn't need an insurance company to insure it...don't forget we self-insure and just pay Liberty Mutual to administer it.

 

[Dracula]

Ups wouldn't need an insurance company to insure it...don't forget we self-insure and just pay Liberty Mutual to administer it.

It doesn't matter who insures it. The liability would be huge.

 

[alister]

That's not how it works at the scales. If you are overweight, you're going nowhere. The whole purpose of checking for overweight rigs is because they damage the roads. If you drive by scales and see rigs parked, they're not sitting there for convenience. They're shut down. A driver-less truck would be no exception, unless they change the laws.



I'm an older guy. But I'm also trying to think this through. If you think this is only a few years down the road, I believe you're mistaken. Right now, this truck is nothing more than a prototype. There is an enormous difference between getting one of these to work in a demonstrative run and a real world run. A whole bag of laws will need to be written and re-written. It takes a whole hell of lot for a driver to get a CDL.

Do you really think they are just going to wave a hand and let an 80,000 pound truck be driven down a crowded highway without a driver? And I'll retire before I take a job "monitoring" one of these trucks in the front seat.

And as some have mentioned, the liability trucking companies will take on will be enormous. Because it's not a matter of if, but WHEN one of these rigs has a major accident. Yes, so do drivers. But drivers are held responsible for their actions. And while computers make tremendous strides in what they can do, the ones we have in our rigs now are decades away from even coming close to operating anything remotely. Right now, they are nothing more than a monitoring device.




Very selected aircraft. Drones that carry no humans. Talk to me when a pilot-less airplane flies 350 passengers from one city to another.

What makes you think the driverless truck will even leave the lot with an overweight load. These things will have more sensors than what is on rigs right now.
I don't believe this truck is a few years out.

2-3 years luxury. Cars drive on interstates
5 years lower end cars start to get it and luxury. Cars drive on city streets.
8-10 years rigs start driving on intrastate
12-15 rigs drive the entire way
15-30 rigs lose meat drivers


Btw autopilot can take off, fly and land planes

 

[Brownslave688]

That's not how it works at the scales. If you are overweight, you're going nowhere. The whole purpose of checking for overweight rigs is because they damage the roads. If you drive by scales and see rigs parked, they're not sitting there for convenience. They're shut down. A driver-less truck would be no exception, unless they change the laws.



I'm an older guy. But I'm also trying to think this through. If you think this is only a few years down the road, I believe you're mistaken. Right now, this truck is nothing more than a prototype. There is an enormous difference between getting one of these to work in a demonstrative run and a real world run. A whole bag of laws will need to be written and re-written. It takes a whole hell of lot for a driver to get a CDL.

Do you really think they are just going to wave a hand and let an 80,000 pound truck be driven down a crowded highway without a driver? And I'll retire before I take a job "monitoring" one of these trucks in the front seat.

And as some have mentioned, the liability trucking companies will take on will be enormous. Because it's not a matter of if, but WHEN one of these rigs has a major accident. Yes, so do drivers. But drivers are held responsible for their actions. And while computers make tremendous strides in what they can do, the ones we have in our rigs now are decades away from even coming close to operating anything remotely. Right now, they are nothing more than a monitoring device.




Very selected aircraft. Drones that carry no humans. Talk to me when a pilot-less airplane flies 350 passengers from one city to another.

Big rigs obviously pose more problems but car companies have said in many statements that driverless passenger cars are less than 5 years away.

Add 5 years for acceptance. 10 more years to figure out all of the kinks with big rigs and 10 more years to switch over fleets. That's still before any new hire would retire.


That's very conservative considering the rate at which technology advances actually speeds up with time.