Autonomous

In an abandoned lot on the outskirts of Sacramento, Calif., R1, a domed gray vehicle half the size of a Toyota Corolla, is practicing driving itself. It stops at stop signs, yields to people, and handles sharp turns, as other self-driving vehicles do on test courses in Silicon Valley, Detroit, and China.

The U.S. Senate plans to work through much of what would have been its August recess, an event about as rare as the sighting of a white rhino. Here's what they hope to accomplish then, as well as what's ahead for trucking on Capitol Hill this week.

Welcome to the inaugural episode of Transport Topics' new podcast: RoadSigns. Our debut episode focuses on how the trucking industry’s steady and ongoing development of autonomous technology may someday affect truck drivers. Click to listen!

The advent of automated driving technology is poised to transform the trucking industry in the years and decades to come, but it is clear that autonomous trucks will not be ready to handle all driving tasks and conditions anytime soon.

General Motors Co. and Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo rocked the auto industry last week with self-driving deals that will have each deploying thousands of robo-taxis onto U.S. roads over the next 18 months. Ford Motor Co., meanwhile, will continue biding its time.

As truck makers and technology developers work toward introducing vehicles with some level of automated driving features in the years ahead, it will be essential for drivers to have a clear understanding of what those systems can and cannot do and how much they can rely on them.

Advances in sensor technology will play a key role in the development of increasingly sophisticated driver- assist systems and the eventual deployment of self-driving trucks in commercial fleets.

If autonomous vehicles are the future of the trucking industry, what is the future of the truck driver? On the surface, it might appear to some casual observers that automation could soon spell the end of the truck driving profession, but that perception quickly falls apart when examining the current limitations of the technology and the stark realities of trucking’s labor needs.

RALEIGH, N.C. — The threat of cyberattacks to the trucking and logistics industries is real, the number of attacks are growing and each attack has the potential to cripple a company, according to a panel of experts June 6 at the Fleet Data Management and Cybersecurity Conference here.

PORTLAND, Ore. — Daimler Trucks is opening an automated truck research and development center here at its North American headquarters to help pave the way for highly automated commercial vehicles.