Posted on 11/17/2017 11:53:16 AM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
Waymo Trucks will someday drive themselves out of warehouses and cruise down freeways without the aid of humans or even a driver’s cab — about that there seems little disagreement. The question is how soon that day gets here.
And while the answers vary — technologists, not surprisingly, are more bullish than truckers — billions of dollars and a growing parade of companies, from tiny start-ups to the biggest trucking operations, are betting it will be here sooner than most people think. This year, companies and investors are on pace to put just over $1 billion into self-driving and other trucking technologies, 10 times the level of three years ago, according to CB Insights, which tracks the venture capital industry.
Tesla is expected to showcase an electric truck that will have some self-driving capabilities. And Embark, a Silicon Valley start-up, announced that it has been testing its self-driving technology as part of a three-way partnership with the truck-leasing company Ryder and the appliance giant Electrolux.
“We are trying to get self-driving technology out on the road as fast as possible,” said Alex Rodrigues, Embark’s chief executive. “Trucking needs self-driving and self-driving needs trucking.”
Unlike autonomous cars, which face questions about navigating chaotic urban streets, trucks spend a lot of time heading straight on desolate highways. And while the advent of the self-driving car will rest on the decisions of individual consumers, logistics companies are unemotional operators that will upgrade their fleets the moment it makes financial sense.....
(Excerpt) Read more at gulfnews.com ...
Gee, and my son is getting ready to begin his Class A CDL classes in January
I believe self-driving truck convoys will be here in the 5-10 year window, and there’ll not be another human driver left in 15 years.
The amount of money being invested in this tech is astounding, FAR, FAR more than robot cars...due to the cost and liability of human drivers.
And they’re close.
In the 3-5 year window we’ll see the first AI trucks on the road. Making money.
Personally I hate the idea. I use computers daily, but I don’t trust them with my life. I do trust me with my life and that of my family. I used to drive buses and people trusted me with the lives of 48 kids at a time.
Even with all the money invested, I don’t believe any machine can possibly make all the millions of micro-decisions a human does while driving.
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is studying the potential need to require two engineers in the cab of every locomotive in the U.S. -- for safety reasons!
Think of how idiotic this is simply from a logical standpoint. A freight train operates in a much more constrained environment with far more restrictions on movement than a truck, and with far fewer interactions with other vehicles and people.
The biggest constraint I see is that it will be decades before the trucking industry ever gets to the point where it is willing to take the driver out of the truck entirely. All of the technology they’re testing now is built around a “no hands on the wheel” operation where there is still a driver in the cab anyway. That makes it a tougher financial lift to justify the new technology in the first place.
As someone who has lived most of their life in rural America, I doubt it. Too many variables including unforeseen situations. Hijacking is one. Once a crew has spotted a computer driven truck, all they need to do is actuate the trailer brakes. The system will shut down due to an unsafe condition allowing the crew access to the cargo. Insurance companies will not be amused. Trucking companies go out of their way to minimize costs. There are many times when a human driver can save money.
No drivers and they’ll double their profit
Will and Sonny along with BJ McKay go to ash heap of history.
I think they are still required to have a fireman.
Picture I-80 in the winter with snow blowing across the road. Time for chains! Who’s going to do that?
warehouse to warehouse will be widespread by 2020 using level 4 tech that’s already past beta testing
I am a trucking coming any owner, who still drives. In my business, which is Propane transport, unmanned transport is never going to happen. The sites we deliver to will not become automated in my lifetime.
Let’s talk about getting a robot semi over a mountain pass in the winter, please. Carrying explosive hazmat.
Freight haulers? Yes, backing a rig into a loading dock is easy. Automate line haul operations for general freight.
When it comes to hauling hazmat, especially petroleum and chemicals, humans are required.
I don’t understand what the big hurry is.
There are plenty of processes and activities that could be automated without the dangers and paradigm shift that are inherent in driverless vehicles on public roadways.
Trains is a great example, but there are plenty of others.
What’s the fixation on skipping all the incremental parts and doing cars and trucks first?
“I don’t understand what the big hurry is.
...plenty ...could be automated without the dangers ...inherent in driverless vehicles”
That has been happening. Every years’ new models take steps closer - anti-lock brakes, back-up cameras, lane drift warnings, collision avoidance auto-braking, GPS navigation, built-in diagnostics, self-parking, etc..
The technology is just ripening, to point that we are close to harvesting big cost and safety savings, by reducing the expensive and error-prone human components in the system.
I guess people will just have to all go work for the government as every other sector automates and downsizes or offshores or pays illegal labor under the table in cash.
They’ll have a truck depot for chains at 2,800 feet.
There’ll be kids there earning extra money chaining up robot trucks.
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