While we might have to wait for self-driving cars, it seems that self driving trucks are already here and on use on public roads. The Freightliner Inspiration Truck with Highway Pilot system is the world’s first autonomous truck to be granted a license for road use in the State of Nevada. In July last year Daimler Trucks provided the world’s first demonstration of an autonomous truck in action when the Mercedes-Benz Future Truck 2025 drove along a cordoned-off section of the A14 autobahn near Magdeburg. The Inspiration Truck is now the next milestone on the road to series production of the Highway Pilot system. The development engineers of Daimler Trucks transferred the system to the US brand Freightliner and modified it for use on American highways. The result is that the State of Nevada certified no less than two Freightliner Inspiration Trucks for regular operations on public roads.
The truck uses Highway Pilot technology that comprises of a front radar and a stereo camera plus assistance systems such as the Adaptive Cruise Control. For licensing on public roads in Nevada, the technology was further developed and the excellent interaction of components extensively tested. As part of the truck´s so-called Marathon Run, the Freightliner Inspiration Truck covered over 10,000 miles (over 16,000 kilometers) on a test circuit in Papenburg, Germany. As soon as the Freightliner Inspiration Truck is safely on the highway, the driver can activate the Highway Pilot system. The driver receives a visual prompt in the instrument cluster to activate the “Highway Pilot.” The vehicle switches to autonomous mode and adapts to the speed of traffic. The driver receives a confirmation message in the instrument cluster, “Highway Pilot active.” The Highway Pilot system does not initiate autonomous passing maneuvers. These have to be executed by the driver. The same is true for leaving the highway and changing lanes. Via the user interface the Highway Pilot keeps the driver visually informed about its current status and accepts instructions. The driver can deactivate the Highway Pilot manually and is able to override the system at any time. If the vehicle is no longer able to process crucial aspects of its environment, e.g. due to road construction or bad weather, the driver is prompted to retake control. In addition to a visual prompt in the instrument cluster there is also a subsequent audible notifica¬tion.