German truck and bus manufacturer, MAN, is looking toward the future of cargo transportation as it seeks to develop a driverless truck. The move comes from the current truck driver shortage which has greatly affected the European region along to reduce the number of accidents and traffic jams on German roads.
Man will reportedly jointly develop this new truck in partnership with other international companies such as Bosch, Leoni, and Knorr-Bremse. The initial goal is to make a bus that can drive itself between logistics hubs without a driver and then later on the transition into a truck. The ultimate goal here is to get an automated truck driving on the autobahn as early as the middle of the decade.
With artificial intelligence at the wheel, it is hoped that this new driverless truck will be able to help tackle the current driver shortage as well as increase the flexibility of its use. It is further hoped that the new AI will be able to reduce diesel consumption as well.
Several German organizations are also on board with the project. These include the Technical Universities of Munich and Braunschweig, safety testing companies TUV SUD and BTC Embedded Systems, and driverless solutions company Fenride. Fraunhofer Insitute for Apple and Integrated Security is also joining the other organizations in the project to ensure that these driverless trucks will be protected from any cyber-based attacks.
As of now, MAN has yet to release any definitive timelines for its project. However, we do have to take into consideration that a project of this magnitude will take time to develop especially with autonomous driving being a key factor. For now, we will just have to wait and see what this German manufacturer will have in store in the coming years, as driverless trucks could be the future for the cargo industry.
