SELF DRIVING TRUCKS

Several articles discussed into one report about self-driving

Justin Pike
Auburn University
SCMN 3720
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Introduction

All around the world trucking companies are trying to make the streets safer with

autonomous vehicles. They have been trying to make self-driving trucks for years, and with one

step after another, they have finally done it. Even though many people would love to have this

idea implemented, a lot of people are entirely against driverless trucks. The reason is that people

think this is hackable, the human aspect assures that someone can have control, and also some

truck drivers would rather be in control. Although, some of the ethical aspects to this may be that

you will see truck drivers with more intelligence than the current drivers. Companies will have

their drivers multitasking, which means they will be doing financing, inventory, or even making

calls for the company that someone else would have been doing. Some of the autonomous trucks

are not entirely autonomous. With some companies, the first driver does the driving and then the

lorries following can follow behind it having a link to the first and not have to worry about the

driving. Basically, the primary driver does the driving for the following drivers, which is called

platooning. There are many benefits to having self-driving or even semi self-driving trucks.

Different Types of Self-Driving Vehicles

There are three different types of autonomous vehicles, which include conditional

automation, high automation, and full automation. Conditional automation is an automated

system that can conduct driving tasks and monitor the driving environment, but the driver must

be ready to take over control when the automated system requests it. High automation is an

autonomous system that can drive the vehicle and monitor road conditions. The human driver

does not even have to interact with the vehicle, but the system only will operate if certain
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conditions are met. In full automation, the system can do all functions for driving and road

monitoring tasks in any environment.

Platooning

With platooning, the vehicle will send a request to a truck to follow. After that, the car

will follow at the same speed and a specified distance based on the lead truck it is following. By

doing this, not only are you saving gas, but you will also reduce drag. All the vehicles in the

platoon will benefit from the linking of the group. To see a group of vehicles platooning down

the road would resemble a military convoy, except that only one driver would be actively

guiding the group.

“It has also been observed that vehicle platooning significantly reduces the drag that each

vehicle experiences. This reduction of drag translates into less fuel consumption, greater

fuel efficiency and less pollution. Drag reduction is found out to be most effective when

the distance between vehicles in the platoon is half the car length; at this distance, there's

50% reduction in drag and 20-25 percent reduction in fuel consumption.” (Media

Independent)

By using vehicle platooning, you will notice a reduction in space between the cars. In return, this

will lead to less traffic congestion and more space on the road for those vehicles not platooning.

People are always concerned about the lives of others when driving. Typically, by law, drivers

tend to stick behind another car at two-second intervals to ensure a safe distance for reacting to

unexpected events. Unexpected events may include deer jumping in front of the vehicle,

bicyclists merging to another lane, a pedestrian stepping out into traffic, or even the rarity of a

branch falling right in front of the car.

The picture above shows an example of vehicle platooning. The cars behind the transfer truck are

using platooning software to follow a safe distance and speed behind the truck. Vehicle

platooning is very much like a road train in many ways. When discussing trains, locomotives

actually are some of the most gas conservative and reliable form of transportation.

Cars and other vehicles that platoon will help the environment and the conservation of

energy. By platooning and reducing that drag, a vehicle can go much further distances and waste

a lot less gas to get from point A to point B. This is what benefit you can look forward to with

platooning. Platooning will also work with a truck to truck, not just car to a truck.

Completely Self-Driving

Volvo has an entirely self-driving truck, as well as Daimler, Tesla, and even a new

technology company called Otto. Their idea is to basically make it where the driver has nothing

to do with the driving except be aware while doing other company jobs in the meantime. Only

recently, Uber has discontinued its initiatives to use self-driving trucks. They did so just so that

the focus of their company is on self-driving cars rather than self-driving trucks. Waymo, which
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is a subsidiary of Google, launched its first trucks in Atlanta last March driving to specific

Google Data Centers. Their trucks use a radar system to coordinate and navigate the roads, with

a human driver there just in case of some sort of emergency.

Tesla is another company trying to implement self-driving trucks, which was started in

November of 2017. They had planned to begin delivering their trucks by 2019, which would

feature an autopilot software similar to their self-driving cars. The software they use controls the

braking, steering, and acceleration with a human driver at the wheel at all times to make sure

they are aware. The driver has to be in physical contact with the steering wheel. They do plan to

implement a platooning feature with their trucks.

Effects of Self-Driving Vehicles

Some of the issues with self-driving trucks include that a truck is not the same as a car.

Some people are worried that the trucking companies trying to implement this technology will

consider them the same. Obviously, trucks are much larger and not so maneuverable like a car.

The program has to take into account that there will be factors to plan for like slowing down

sooner and making more massive turns. Over the past few years, there have been twenty wrecks

involving a self-driving car, with only one of the twenty cars being the fault of the car rather than

someone or something else. Having the sensor or cameras on top of the truck leads to a potential

risk of the sun blinding them, distinguishing between cars and large signs could be a problem,

and possibly be a problem with inclement weather.

Some of the advantages to self-driving trucks include fewer road accidents, a decrease in

traffic jams and congestion, and substantial cost savings. Even though the vehicles are yet proven

to be completely safe and accident-proof, many different sources say that the trucks will be more
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reliable than the current truck driving situations, especially in inclement weather. According to a

report by McKinsey & Company, self-driving vehicles will lead to around 90% fewer traffic

fatalities. A bit of traffic congestion would also be alleviated from autonomous trucks. These

trucks will be taking the most efficient routes and not be delayed by human reactions that may

lead to traffic backups. The cost savings from autonomous trucks is also a great benefit to

customers and even the company. Although an autonomous truck has a huge price to buy, the

saving over some time will be beneficial. Cost savings will be from the truck taking more

optimal routes, and even platooning. With platooning, the trucks will not have as much drag on

the exterior of the truck that causes more energy usage.

The disadvantages of autonomous trucks include loss of jobs, new security concerns, and

even the many new regulations and laws that may follow. Although new positions may open up

for the latest technology of self-driving trucks, there will also be a loss of truck driver jobs due to

vehicles being self-driving. A concern with this is that some of the truck drivers have been

driving for decades and will lose a lot if replaced by these trucks. Another disadvantage includes

the concern of security. People think that the security of this technology will be at risk to hackers

and other types of criminals. Even though companies plan to still have a person behind the wheel

for such instances of being hacked, people are still concerned. There will also need to be many

regulations and laws to surround self-driving cars. This will take a long time to incorporate

which will push the development of self-driving trucks nationwide.

Conclusion

The idea of having self-driving vehicles is now possible with the trucking companies.

Volvo already has a few self-driving trucks in operation in Sweden. With companies already
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using these vehicles in other countries, I am sure it will soon be allowed to be here in the United

States. With trucks being much more efficient due to the computer aspect, trucking companies

will be able to cut costs down and have their drivers now doing other jobs that someone else in

the company would be doing instead. Not only does this mean that the companies would

probably lay off specific employees, but the costs for transporting goods should be cut down a

lot since there will not be as many employees to pay and the trucks will be driving the most

efficient way in terms of gas consumption and mileage. In conclusion, companies using self-

driving trucks will benefit a lot from this, but everyone else will benefit from the saving in

shipping from this.

Works Cited
ATBS. Self-Driving Trucks: Are Truck Drivers Out of a Job? September 2018. 1 April 2019.
<https://www.atbs.com/knowledge-hub/self-driving-trucks-are-truck-drivers-out-of-a-
jo>.
Cottinham, D. What is Vehicle Platooning. 2016. 1 April 2019.
<https://www.drivingtests.co.nz/resources/what-is-vehicle-platooning/>.
Five Reasons Not to Worry about Self-Driving Trucks. n.d. 1 April 2019.
<https://www.rtscarrierservices.com/articles/five-reasons-not-worry-about-self-driving-
trucks>.
Media Indepedent. Vehicle Platooning. 2016. 1 April 2019. <http://www.tech-faq.com/vehicle-
platooning.html>.
Telematics News. Volvo SATRE project (autonomous driving) enters final phase. 24 January
2012. 1 April 2019. <http://telematicsnews.info/wp-
content/uploads/general/vehicle%20platooning3.jpg>.
Trucks headed for a driverless future. 31 January 2018. 1 April 2019.
<https://www.ft.com/content/7686ea3e-e0dd-11e7-a0d4-0944c5f49e46>.
Types of autonomous vehicles. 07 December 2016. 1 April 2019.
<https://www.todaysmotorvehicles.com/article/types-of-autonomous-vehicles/>.
Uncrewedkurt. Platooning. 8 December 2015. 1 April 2019.
<https://carautomated.wordpress.com/2015/12/08/platooning/comment-page-1/>.
Webster, Joe. Autonomous Trucks: Pros and Cons. n.d. 1 April 2019.
<https://www.a1autotransport.com/the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-
autonomous-trucks/>.