General, Research, Technology

An unmanned truck for the first time delivered cargo from one US coast to another

What are unmanned vehicles capable of? We have already informed you that a number of companies are testing these vehicles on specially constructed highways for these purposes. Others create an unmanned taxi service, while still others focus on cargo transportation. And, despite the fact that history already knows cases of successful travel of self-driving trucks on real highways, not so long ago a significant event took place in all senses: an unmanned truck crossed the United States of America for the first time, driving from one coast to another on its own.

An unmanned truck delivers cargo itself

Can an unmanned truck cross the continent?

For the first time in the history of modernself-driving cars, a truck without a driver made such a long trip on real roads. And not just like that, but delivering the goods. A stand-alone truck delivered 40,000 pounds (just over 18,000 kilograms) of oil from Tulara, California, to Quakertown, PA, completing the trip in less than three days. The truck was driven by an algorithm created by a Silicon Valley startup called Plus.ai. Like any other autonomous car with an autopilot, the truck uses many cameras, lasers and radars and lidars to recognize traffic signs, obstacles and other vehicles on the road in order to assess the traffic situation.

The truck traveled the roads day and nightbecause he, unlike the real driver, did not need to spend time sleeping. At the same time, the car was well-versed in changes in altitude, going around a variety of obstacles. In particular, the areas in which repairs were carried out. The rain and snow were not an obstacle for the car either. Of course, there was always a human driver on board, ready, if necessary, to take control and a safety engineer who would monitor the operation of the machine. But their intervention was not required.

Although the truck had to do a fewstops to take the planned breaks prescribed by law, he basically drove autonomously. The most impressive thing is that the driver did not need to take control during the trip, that is, there were no problems that would require his intervention. - quoted by Plus.ai Zmescience.

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There are currently in the United Statesmore than a dozen companies developing or implementing autonomous delivery of goods. For example, San Francisco-based startup Embark Trucks has completed a long cross-country ride. However, it took longer to complete after five days, in which case no cargo was delivered. And the driver from time to time had to adjust the movement. Do you believe in the future of unmanned cargo transportation? Write about it in our chat in Telegram.

See also: How can one person drive two trucks at the same time?

Moreover, the most important in this case islong automated trips. Since in such conditions, systems are most difficult to navigate. In addition, they are important for freight operators, because it is at great distances that you can get significant benefits. A self-propelled truck will cost more, but it must pay for itself in the long run. About 30-40% of the cost of long-haul cargo is the driver’s salary and support costs (for motels, meals, etc.). A fully autonomous truck does not need this. Moreover, the use of this type of transport will also reduce the time required for the delivery of goods.