In The News
CDL-holding journalists ready to get legal certification to drive Daimler’s autonomous truck in Nevada
LAS VEGAS — Autonomous vehicles are not driverless vehicles. "It's erroneous" that drivers will be replaced. "We'll never replace drivers," said Daimler Trucks North America's David Giroux here Monday prior to the first legal certification of a group of CDL-holding journalists to drive an autonomous truck in the state of Nevada.
And not just any autonomous vehicle, Freightliner's Inspiration truck.
The airwaves and news publications have been abuzz since Daimler's debut in May of its autonomous vehicle, unveiled at a grand press event at the Hoover Dam.
Although the trucking media largely got it right, the mainstream media wrongly concentrated on the word "driverless," explained Giroux, director of corporate communications for DTNA.
And don't think autonomous freight-toting trucks will be plying the highways and byways of Nevada anytime soon. That will be a ways down the road. By the time autonomous trucks are a common sight across the U.S., they probably will not look like or be equipped like Daimler's current autonomous vehicle; this is only the "next step" in the advancement of trucking technology, said Derek Rotz, director of advanced engineering for DTNA.
"A ton of calls" from media across the U.S. and the globe and sensationalism of the "driverless" idea rather than the autonomous vehicle (in which the driver is crucial to its operation) convinced the OEM that it was time to bring in a group of CDL-holding trucking media (and some without CDLs) to experience what driving (and not driving) these trucks is like first-hand, said Giroux.
And he added that the driver will always be needed for pre- and post-trip inspections, noting broken or damaged equipment and of course, making important decisions about when to quickly take the wheel and disengage the autonomous feature, with Rotz adding that the driver will be like the captain of an airplane, making the critical decisions but leaving other tasks to be achieved by technology under his or her direction.
The driver engages the "highway pilot" in a way similar to engaging the cruise control, with controls mounted on the steering wheel. A radar unit scans the road ahead and a stereo video camera also feeds information to the system, which identifies painted highway lines and reflectors to determine lane position.
When a suitable stretch of highway is reached, the dash display indicates that the highway pilot is available for use.
It should be noted that Freightliner's Inspiration model has a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration level three status, or limited self-driving automation because it allows the driver to cede full control of the vehicle under certain highway conditions while remaining available to resume control as needed. (A level four vehicle is entirely self-driving and may not even be manned.)
The CDL-holders will operate the trucks on the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, experiencing for example, the innovative mirror system that can pan around corners and view down the length of the trailer, spokesmen said.
The CDL-holders among the writers will not only have to have a valid Class A CDL, but demonstrate a keen eye, quick reaction time (error time of less than ½ a second) and will be tested before being certified and cleared to take the wheel.
Later, trucking media will hear reports on where this technology is headed in the future and receive a marketing update. So stay tuned.