Scania recently received approval from the Swedish Transport Agency Transportstyrelsen to increase the scope of its autonomous vehicle testing, granting additional range and route options. Previously, Scania had three autonomous trucks operating on the E4 highway, driving south from Scania’s primary production facility in Södertälje to Nyköping. Based on the success of the trial, Scania’s autonomous trucks can now operate on all types of roads between Södertälje to Jönköping, a nearly 300-kilometre (186-mile) drive.
“It means our vehicles can go completely autonomously from the gates of Scania to the end destination,” says Peter Hafmar, vice-president and head of autonomous solutions. “We have someone sitting at the wheel monitoring the system during this testing, but the vehicles are driving by themselves. They’re out there in busy local traffic and then on the highway at 80 km/h down to Jönköping, where they can then navigate the roundabouts and local roads, before arriving by themselves at the destination where we deliver the goods.”
Machines Learning In The Real World
As Scania’s autonomous trucks experience a wider range of routes and scenarios, the company is able to collect real-world data and steadily expand the trucks’ capabilities. Scania says the mining industry has thus far been the primary focus of autonomous vehicle testing, but that the use of self-driving trucks for hub-to-hub or terminal-to-terminal logistics routes continues to grow and is currently an ideal scenario for autonomous truck technology, as such routes are often easier to navigate than locations in crowded cities. As Scania perfects the delivery routes, it can develop more prototypes and safely transition the self-driving trucks into logistics and distribution jobs in crowded cities.
“The technology is getting really close now, and, just as with the opposition to combustion engines at the start of the twentieth century, the obstacles are steadily being removed,” Hafmar says. “We need to be ready for this change, which will complement the other sustainable developments in the transport industry. That’s why we’re investing in it now.”
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Source: Scania