First licenced autonomous big rig drives on U.S. roads

In public relations, sometimes the production is a bigger story than the product. Truck maker Freightliner certainly made a huge production out of premiering its self-driving transport truck. From a viewing platform perched high over the Colorado River, onlookers from 25 countries watched as opulent audio-visuals and executive presentations were projected directly onto the wall of the Hoover Dam. Then the truck itself came down out of the mountains, Moses-like, to pose atop the dam wall.

In photos: First road-legal self-driving transport truck hits the road

It was a stunning show, a unique leap of imagination. But how big a story is the truck itself? It hardly comes out of left field for a truck maker to reveal a Class 8 tractor that can (up to a point) drive itself. After all, self-driving cars have been front and centre for a while now, with prototypes on the road in some American states and many production cars already equipped with technology that will enable fully autonomous driving, once laws and roads are ready to accommodate it.

Nevada issues first license for self-driving transport truck

The operative word here is "once." Freightliner's massive grab for limelight is less about wowing the general public, or even about impressing its truck-fleet customers. It's about engaging the governments whose approval will be needed before self-driving transport trucks can become a nationwide reality.

"Seeing is believing," says Martin Daum, president and CEO of Freightliner's parent company, Daimler Trucks North America. "It gives legislators a far better idea (of what we are doing). We can get them out to Nevada and let them ride in the truck, do workshops with them, have customers connect with regulators from different states … and kick-start a discussion."

Why Nevada? Because that state was the first to allow the testing of self-driving cars on public roads. Apparently eager to become a centre of expertise for autonomous vehicles, Nevada has licensed two Freightliner "Inspiration" tractors for road use. The trucks are equipped for Level 3 autonomy: in appropriate conditions, on freeways and rural roads with clear lane markings, the driver would be able to select "Highway Pilot" to activate adaptive cruise control with automatic braking, and automatic lane following.

It's no coincidence that parent company Daimler AG also owns Mercedes-Benz. The auto maker already sells cars equipped with the same capabilities (though, for legal reasons, the hands-off auto-steer function cannot be used for more than a few seconds at a time).

Some touted benefits of commercial-truck AVs are the same as for cars. Safety is enhanced because computers don't get tired or distracted, and have faster reaction times than human drivers. And computers are better at consistently driving for maximum fuel economy. The technology would also allow platooning – running AVs in tight nose-to-tail convoys that reduce aerodynamic drag, like slip-streaming in auto racing. Freightliner predicts average fuel-economy gains of 5.3 per cent for three tractor-trailers running in formation.

But there are further issues unique to the big rigs. An obvious concern is that if an 18-wheeler AV's computers fail, it could cause a lot more hurt and damage than an out-of-control car or light truck.

The big prize for the trucking industry is productivity. Freightliner cites research showing that, even though a human driver always has to be on stand-by, those drivers experience less fatigue. Says Daum, "If we can prove, and I think we will be able to do so, that driver fatigue is reduced significantly, and if we can convince regulators based on those facts," then he hopes the law will be changed to allow drivers longer hours at the wheel.

Freightliner has no interest in pursuing the ultimate Level 4 AV, in which an operator inputs a destination and the AV self-drives the entire trip with no expectation that the human "driver" be available to take control at any time.

Level 3 requires a driver at the wheel and always on standby to take back manual control as needed. Daum admits it will be a challenge to ensure drivers stay in the driver's seat (some rigs, after all, have beds in the back of the cab) or don't distract themselves by playing video games.

Still, given the vast highway distances covered by transport trucks (about three million of them in the United States alone, each averaging almost 200,000 kilometres a year) it's not hard to make a case for the level of autonomous trucking Freightliner is proposing.

But unless you're planning to drive to or through Nevada, don't expect to encounter any self-driving big rigs on the road this year or even this decade. Social and regulatory acceptance will take time. Meanwhile, Freightliner has made sure we remember that it was the first to put the show on the road.

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