Daimler is claiming a world first after testing a series production Mercedes-Benz Actros truck equipped with the company’s intelligent Highway Pilot system on a public road in Germany. The company said the premiere is a ‘further important step towards the market maturity of autonomously driving trucks – and towards the safe, sustainable road freight transport of the future’.
The truck was piloted by Dr Wolfgang Bernhard, the member of the Daimler AG Board of Management responsible for Daimler Trucks and Buses, and Winfried Kretschmann, Minister-President of the state of Baden-Württemberg. As driver and co-driver, they took the autonomous truck along Autobahn 8 between Denkendorf and Stuttgart.
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The truck used for the premiere is a standard Mercedes-Benz Actros equipped with the intelligent Highway Pilot system for this test of autonomous driving on public roads.
Minister-President Kretschmann said the state government is currently planning to set up a test field for autonomous and partially autonomous driving which will be open to any potentially effective technologies. “This project enables the technology and infrastructure required in this connection to be tested and examined on motorways, rural and urban roads. It is also intended to promote the development of the legal framework for autonomous driving,” he said.
Daimler says the version of the Highway Pilot installed in the tested Actros allows semi-autonomous driving. This means that while the Highway Pilot is able to steer the truck by itself on motorways, the driver retains full responsibility, needs to monitor the traffic at all times and must be able to intervene at any time. The Highway Pilot can therefore be compared to the autopilot commonly used in aviation, Daimler said.
The system includes front-mounted radar and a stereo camera, as well as well-proven assistance systems such as Adaptive Cruise Control +. The technology was adapted for use on public roads. Smooth interaction between the components was extensively tested. To this end the Highway Pilot has already absolved around 20,000 kilometres on test routes in Germany and the USA.
Redundancy in the sensor systems makes test operations particularly safe. The Highway Pilot is also able to respond appropriately to unforeseen circumstances, Daimler says. Should the weather or the road markings deteriorate excessively, the system prompts the driver to take over the steering again. The driver has sufficient time to do this. Should the driver still fail to react to the audible and visual signals of the Highway Pilot, the truck is automatically brought to a safe stop.
Daimler says that autonomous driving has considerable advantages, especially in the road freight transport sector. Firstly, it improves safety: the Highway Pilot system never suffers fatigue or becomes distracted – it is always 100 percent active. A study by Daimler Trucks has also shown that driver fatigue decreases by 25 percent if they are relieved of monotonous lane-keeping and can focus on other tasks. This will become possible in further development stages of autonomous driving.
Secondly, autonomous trucks improve efficiency: thanks to optimum gearshifting, acceleration and braking, they consume less fuel – which in turn reduces CO2 emissions. Daimler Trucks expects savings of up to five percent from this.
Thirdly, autonomously driving trucks are more attractive workplaces: the driver’s ability to leave a great deal of the route to the Highway Pilot greatly reduces stress in the cockpit, Daimler says.
