While many people are talking about the implications of self-driving cars, there's one use that sits on the side and receives little attention; the self-driving business semi-truck.
This week, the world's first self-driving truck hits the road. The truck, named Inspiration, received a ceremony and send off from automotive developer Daimler's Wolfgang Bernhard and Nevada governor Brian Sandoval.
"There's a clear need for this generation of trucks, and we're the pioneers who are willing to tackle it," Bernhard said.
Inspiration is an impressive, but limited, truck. For example, it can only drive itself on the highway
"It will take control only on the highway, maintaining a safe distance from other vehicles and staying in its lane," reports WIRED. "It won't pass slower vehicles on its own. If the truck encounters a situation it can't confidently handle, like heavy snow that covers lane lines, it will alert the human that it's time for him to take over, via beeps and icons in the dashboard. If the driver doesn't respond within about five seconds, the truck will slow down gradually, then stop"
Technologically, the truck isn't that unique. It just has a stereoscopic camera installed for scanning lanes, as well as long and short radar for detecting objects in front of it. The truck does not have any sensors in the back, because the designers believe that they are unnecessary.
While Inspiration is a huge step for self-driving trucks, it's still just a test vehicle.
"Daimler's confident it's safe for public roads, and the Nevada DMV agrees. But the automaker needs a few million more test miles on the books, in a wide variety of locales and conditions (snow, rain, extreme temperatures), before it's ready to offer even this very limited autonomous capability to any customers," according to WIRED.
Daimler believes that the truck's testing will require more than a decade of driving before it will be ready for the market.
