Self Driving "Inspiration" Truck

AccountsReceivable@DRC

AccountsReceivable@DRC

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Mar 25, 2008
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I was amazed and frightened simultaneously...while watching this video. We all know it's coming...but when you see these technological advancements come to fruition and witness them "in motion" - it becomes a different feeling...Reality can be a little scary I guess.

The driver can actually sit back, obtain information from their dispatch, call home or complete paperwork on their tablet. They've got time on their side. Amazing.

But really...the more important question should be - can this truck also make bacon & eggs? Apparently not. Just goes to show...no matter the make or model - you'll never get a truck that gives you "everything" you need.

Inspiration Truck
 
This truck is a long way from being self driven. Under ideal circumstances (i.e. clearly marked roads, no snow, no debris etc) it can self steer. But the driver still needs to be in his seat, so at this point I'd have to question any potential cost savings. This is more of a publicity stunt than anything else. We're a long way yet from driverless trucks delivering multi-stop loads in NYC. There are still some big problems to be worked out on both the technological side as well as on the legal side.
 
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There are some things to consider:
a) there are a number of large warehouses operating in the US where the forklifts are completely manless and automated, and they work perfectly
b) the technology already exists to a degree in cars ... examples are adaptive cruise control in a lot of cars, automatic braking for accident avoidance, Ford's automatic parking system ... these are all basically betas of this technology which will spread to be more mainstream over time

I don't think that the goal is for the transportation industry to go completely automated. It's still a fact that when a shipment is being picked up and delivered somewhere, the driver in essence represents the party responsible for the freight. That won't change. This would be more to automate more mundane functions and overall increase safety. We probably all saw the articles talking about how many accidents have been recorded with driverless cars in California until now. I actually think that the numbers are astonishly low.
 
True, everyone freaked out back in the day when "cruise control" was allowed in cars. Or even more when planes could switch to "auto pilot".
More and more of the operating systems for cars and trucks will be automated as time goes by, but there will still be a need someone behind the wheel, just in case.
Plus, you take drivers out of cars and Canada's biggest employer (Tim Horton's) will be outa business.
 
Or your car drives you to work and you then send it to Tim Hortons to pick up your coffee. What we will see in the next 5 years will blow our minds.
 
Forklifts and excavators and mining trucks are much more amenable to automation than highway trucks. Although apparently the next time a driver has a hard time blind side backing into a really tight spot he'll be able to say "there's an ap for that".. coming soon! Someone is working on a way for the driver to get out of his truck and back it in via his cell phone guidance.. this means every rookie driver will be able to back in perfectly with one swing..
 
If the driver of one of these vehicles is sitting in the driver seat, would he be logging it as "On duty, not driving" and could he then extend his travelling time by doing his actual driving prior to the 11th hour and then do the on duty not driving for a couple more hours?
 
@Freight Broker ... It's already been done !!!
In Germany, on the autobahn, Daimler ran 3 trucks one behind the other. Only the driver in the first truck did any driving. The other two simply followed the first ... autonomously. There were drivers in the back two trucks just in case of an emergency.
Also, at the MATS show, the new Freightliner and its trailer were driven into the dock area at the back of the pavilion. Once through the gate, the driver got out and the truck backed itself into the dock.

After trillions in infrastructure spend and 40 or 50 years down the road, all traffic will be autonomous. I doubt I'll live to see it, but I'm pretty sure my kids will. My grandchildren may never know the joy of actually driving a car down the road.
 
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Probably on duty driving as the driver is still in his seat, and if anything happens he'll be held responsible, not the machine. We'll have to amend our definition of driving to something like "a person is considered the driver of a vehicle if that person occupies the left hand front seat of said vehicle" What he/she actually does while driving i.e. steering, shifting gears, or simply monitoring the systems will become less relevant. Personally I like having control of my vehicle.. I prefer a manual gearbox, and I like to parallel park without my car doing it for me. My first couple of cars didn't even have AC.
 
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