A 10-camera, Nvidia-GPU powered, autonomous trucking solution on commercially available trucks is what Tu Simple demonstrated at CES2018. The cameras are tuned for short and long-range vision and the trucks will operate depot to depot, primarily on freeways.
Although the modified Peterbilt trucks will still have an operator upon commercial launch in late 2018, eventually the driver in a cab may no longer be required. Chuck Price points out that this isn’t about replacing drivers, but making them safer, as well as providing a longer-term solution to the truck-driving solution.
As has been said by others about autonomous vehicles, wireless provides connectivity, but it isn’t necessary for driving. Price indicates wireless will be the mechanism for transmitting telematics data, while old-fashioned sneaker-net (e.g. swapping hard-drives) when a truck is off-line at a service depot will be the method for a complete data download.
4 replies on “Autonomous Trucking Made Simple”
Very cool Ken! I hope Silicon Valley can use your your incredible depth of knowledge to get us out of our regional wreck!
Thanks Kirk!
And yet another trucking start-up, Ike. Brilliant that they are using Nuro’s (robotic delivery) software to give them a jumpstart on the market.
https://www.wired.com/story/ike-self-driving-truck-startup-nuro-software-deal/
and their website
https://www.ikerobotics.com/
This is an amazing video from Tu Simple as they complete an 80-mile driverless freight run in Arizona without a driver in the driver’s seat (no one in the cab) https://youtu.be/dGglN4J9zZ0