Is this a sign of the times to come ?
Google's robot cars pass driving test - Telegraph
Robot trucks anyone? I wonder what rates the robots will drive for?
Yes, this is a sign of things to come. Robot trucks will drive for far less money than human driven trucks and that is why there will be a rush to them once the legal hurdles are cleared.
Robots will be exempt from hours of service rules too, making them far more useful and productive than human drivers. The trucks will report their maintenance state to the carriers, enabling problems to be detected early and maintenance costs to be reduced. They will never speed, make an illegal lane change, tailgate, cut off a four-wheeler or violate any other traffic law. They won't need windshields, seats or in-cab climate control. Indeed, they won't need a steering wheel or even a truck cab.
With trucks always saying yes and never complaining about slow freight areas, New York City, Canada, and such; carriers will transform dispatch from a human activity to a computer program. The financial benefits of robotic trucks will be too great for carriers to resist.
As your article shows, the legal hurdles are already being cleared and cars are driving themselves now. Planes are flying themselves too.
In freight transportation, robots have been used for a long time in warehouses to move items, replacing fork lift drivers. Cargo plane pilots will be the next to go as remotely piloted or self-flying cargo planes take over.
Drones are appearing by the thousands worldwide. It is only a matter of time before cargo planes are flown without humans on board. Passenger planes will follow, perhaps with one pilot on board as backup, eliminating the need for a co-pilot.
If cars can drive themselves, trucks can too. The truck pictured below is a robot.
See:
World's largest truck goes robotic
The truck pictured below is also a robot.
See:
Autonomous robot truck will debut in Afghaniston this year
Notice that real trucks are hauling real loads in the real world today where regulations do not prohibit them. The technology is here now. The rules need to change to make robot trucks legal on the roads we drive today.
See also:
Imagine a future without trucks
by yours truly.
I am looking forward to robot cars. When I need to run to Home Depot to buy a quart of paint because I ran short when working on a project, I won't need to go. I'll stay on task and send the car to the Home Depot drive-through door to get the paint.
It's bad news for local courrier companies, though. Law firms that used to rely on courriers to move legal documents will buy, lease or rent robot cars to do that work. Heck, people working in the law firm may rent their robot cars to the firm to shuttle legal papers while they work in the office.
Taxi cab drivers are toast. Robots don't want tips.
Lots of possibilities when robots are allowed to fly and drive like humans are.
