‘Driverless’ trucks become reality: Daimler unveils prototype, dubbed Highway Pilot

Speculation about autonomous — or “driverless” — vehicles has been commonplace in the trucking industry for years. Now, Daimler has made this concept a reality.

At a July 3 global press conference and demonstration in Magdeburg, Germany, Daimler is hosting its “Shaping Future Transportation 2014” conference. And the decided star of the show is an actual, fully-functioning autonomous truck operating at real-world speeds on a special section of the Autobahn outside of Magdeburg. Daimler said the autonomous truck could be ready for real-world deployment by 2025.

Daimler is quick to point out that these new “truck autopilot” systems do not diminish or eliminate the role of the truck driver, but rather turn him or her from a “trucker” to a “transport manager.” Daimler claims its new system, once fully fleshed out and in real-world use, will offer drivers an “attractive mobile workplace offering scope for new professional skills.”

Flowery language aside, Daimler notes that the system is not a new truck or even a new product, but instead a revolutionary shift in the way the transport system of the future will develop. According to Daimler Trucks’ global head Wolfgang Bernhard, the new system will offer the highest possible level of traffic safety while conserving resources, reducing emissions and eliminating physical and mental stress commonly experienced by drivers in tough road and traffic conditions.

In its current configuration, Highway Pilot communicates with both its environment, surrounding vehicles while driving autonomously. A driver remains at the control — much like an airline pilot while an aircraft is on autopilot — to take over whenever necessary. According to Dr. Uwe Clausen, the system is designed to take over and allow the driver to rest and monitor vehicle performance in particularly stressful or boring situations, such has heavily congested traffic or long interstate stretches where little driver input is required.

Moreover, Clausen says Highway Pilot is the centerpiece of a whole new concept in freight logistics, as the system serves as the meeting point and optimization center for a host of transportation demands. This is a fancy way of saying the system collects and analyzes data in the overall context of the logistics train and transport system. It processes data ranging from weather, road conditions, vehicle speed and traffic congestion while navigating, communicating with the shipper, the fleet and other vehicles around the truck and actively interacting with cars and trucks it shares the road with. The result, Clausen says, “will be freight efficiency levels which would have seemed virtually impossible only a few years ago.”

How the system works