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A self-driving truck, also known as an autonomous truck or robo-truck, is an application of
self-driving technology A self-driving car, also known as an autonomous car (AC), driverless car, robotic car or robo-car, is a car that is capable of operating with reduced or no human input. They are sometimes called robotaxis, though this term refers specifical ...
aiming to create trucks that can operate without human input. Alongside light, medium, and heavy-duty trucks, many companies are developing self-driving technology in
semi SEMI is an industry association comprising companies involved in the electronics design and manufacturing supply chain. They provide equipment, materials and services for the manufacture of semiconductors, photovoltaic panels, LED and flat pan ...
trucks to automate highway driving in the delivery process. In September 2022, ''Guidehouse Insights'' listed
Waymo Waymo LLC, formerly known as the Google Self-Driving Car Project, is an American autonomous driving technology company headquartered in Mountain View, California. It is a subsidiary of Google's parent company (Alphabet Inc., Alphabet Inc). T ...
,
Aurora An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...
,
TuSimple TuSimple Holdings, Inc. is a Chinese autonomous trucking company, based in San Diego, California, with offices in Arizona, Texas, and China. It was founded in 2015 by Xiaodi Hou and Mo Chen. In December 2023, the company announced that it would ...
, Gatik,
Plus Plus or PLUS may refer to: Mathematics * Addition * +, the mathematical sign Music * Plus (band), a Japanese pop boy band Albums and EPs * ''+'' (Ed Sheeran album), (pronounced "plus"), 2011 * ''Plus'' (Astrud Gilberto and James Last album), ...
,
Kodiak Robotics Kodiak may refer to: Places * Kodiak, Alaska, a city located on Kodiak island * Kodiak, Missouri, an unincorporated community * Kodiak Archipelago, in southern Alaska * Kodiak Island, the largest island of the Kodiak archipelago ** Kodiak Launch ...
,
Daimler Truck Daimler Truck AG (holding company legal name Daimler Truck Holding AG) is the world's largest commercial vehicle manufacturer, with over 35 main locations worldwide and approximately 100,000 employees. Daimler Truck AG is headquartered in Leinfel ...
, Einride, Locomation, and Embark Trucks (acquired by
Applied Intuition Applied Intuition is an American software company specializing in building artificial intelligence (AI) technologies and advanced software for vehicle manufacturers. Founded in 2017 and based in Mountain View, California, Applied Intuition devel ...
) as the top 10 vendors in automated trucking. And, '' Transport Topics'' in November 2022 is listing fourteen companies to know about self-driving truck; Aurora,
Waymo Waymo LLC, formerly known as the Google Self-Driving Car Project, is an American autonomous driving technology company headquartered in Mountain View, California. It is a subsidiary of Google's parent company (Alphabet Inc., Alphabet Inc). T ...
,
TuSimple TuSimple Holdings, Inc. is a Chinese autonomous trucking company, based in San Diego, California, with offices in Arizona, Texas, and China. It was founded in 2015 by Xiaodi Hou and Mo Chen. In December 2023, the company announced that it would ...
, Gatik, Locomation,
Torc Robotics Torc Robotics (Torc), an independent subsidiary of Daimler Truck, is an American autonomous truck company headquartered in Blacksburg, Virginia, with operations in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Austin, Texas; and Stuttgart, Germany. Torc is testing aut ...
, Waabi, Einride,
Plus Plus or PLUS may refer to: Mathematics * Addition * +, the mathematical sign Music * Plus (band), a Japanese pop boy band Albums and EPs * ''+'' (Ed Sheeran album), (pronounced "plus"), 2011 * ''Plus'' (Astrud Gilberto and James Last album), ...
, Embark,
Kodiak Robotics Kodiak may refer to: Places * Kodiak, Alaska, a city located on Kodiak island * Kodiak, Missouri, an unincorporated community * Kodiak Archipelago, in southern Alaska * Kodiak Island, the largest island of the Kodiak archipelago ** Kodiak Launch ...
, Robotic Research, Outrider and
Pronto Pronto may refer to: Transport *Ford Pronto, a vehicle rebadged Suzuki Carry *Pronto (smart card), a contactless smart card used for public transit in San Diego, California *Pronto Cycle Share, a defunct bicycle-sharing system in Seattle, Washingt ...
. In February 2024, this list was updated to reflect the exit of
Waymo Waymo LLC, formerly known as the Google Self-Driving Car Project, is an American autonomous driving technology company headquartered in Mountain View, California. It is a subsidiary of Google's parent company (Alphabet Inc., Alphabet Inc). T ...
,
TuSimple TuSimple Holdings, Inc. is a Chinese autonomous trucking company, based in San Diego, California, with offices in Arizona, Texas, and China. It was founded in 2015 by Xiaodi Hou and Mo Chen. In December 2023, the company announced that it would ...
, Embark, and Locomation, as well as the addition of Stack AV. Since 2022, daily testing occurs with human safety drivers behind the wheel, often performing commercial pilots for customers. Only in limited validation runs on test tracks have these autonomous trucking companies performed driverless operations where no human is located in the vehicle anymore. The reason is a self-imposed high acceptance bar for safe deployment of this technology. In December 2024,
Kodiak Robotics Kodiak may refer to: Places * Kodiak, Alaska, a city located on Kodiak island * Kodiak, Missouri, an unincorporated community * Kodiak Archipelago, in southern Alaska * Kodiak Island, the largest island of the Kodiak archipelago ** Kodiak Launch ...
became the first company to launch commercial driverless operations of autonomous trucks in the United States. Operating on private lease roads in West Texas, the company provides a driver-as-a-service solution on customer-owned heavy-duty trucks. Self-driving trucks are expected to be deployed more widely on highways in the United States by 2027. Several government agencies in the U.S. and Europe have announced new legislation surrounding the use of autonomous trucks. Some challenges of bringing self-driving trucks on public roads include, but are not limited to, road safety, the need for human drivers inside the vehicle, and the lack of specific regulations surrounding driverless vehicles. File:Autonomous_truck_cab_on_display_(44825419221).jpg, Embark Trucks autonomous semi cab on display File:Kodiak Robotics self-driving truck 01.jpg, Kodiak Robotics self-driving truck (Kenworth T680) on the street


History


1990s

As recorded in June 1995 in
Popular Science Magazine Popular science (also called pop-science or popsci) is an interpretation of science intended for a general audience. While science journalism focuses on recent scientific developments, popular science is more broad ranging. It may be written ...
, self-driving trucks were being developed for combat convoys, whereby only the lead truck would be driven by a human and the following trucks would rely on
satellite navigation A satellite navigation or satnav system is a system that uses satellites to provide autonomous geopositioning. A satellite navigation system with global coverage is termed global navigation satellite system (GNSS). , four global systems are ope ...
, an
inertial guidance system An inertial navigation system (INS; also inertial guidance system, inertial instrument) is a navigation device that uses motion sensors (accelerometers), rotation sensors ( gyroscopes) and a computer to continuously calculate by dead reckoning ...
and ground-speed sensors.


2000s

Komatsu made the earliest development in autonomous trucks testing a fleet of five Ultra Class trucks in
Codelco The National Copper Corporation of Chile (), abbreviated as Codelco, is a Chilean state-owned mining company and the largest copper mining company in the world. It was formed in 1976 from foreign-owned copper companies that were nationalised in 1 ...
Mine Radomiro Tomic in Chile in 2005 then in 2007 was installed the first working fleet in the mine Gabriela Mistral in Chile, also a Codelco property.


2010s

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American Arms industry, defense and aerospace manufacturer with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta on March 15, 1995. It is headquartered in North ...
, with funding from the
U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...
, developed an autonomous truck convoy system that uses a lead truck operated by a human driver with a number of trucks following autonomously. Developed as part of the Army's Autonomous Mobility Applique System (AMAS), the system consists of an autonomous driving package that, , has been installed on more than nine types of vehicles and has completed more than 55,000 hours of driving at speeds up to . , the Army was planning to field 100–200 trucks as part of a rapid-fielding program. In Europe, truck platooning was being considered with the
Safe Road Trains for the Environment Safe Road Trains for the Environment (SARTRE) is a European Commission-funded project to investigate and trial technologies and strategies for the safe platooning of road vehicles, a transportation concept in which several vehicles are electron ...
approach, a project that ended in September 2012.


Terminology


US truck classification

Self-driving trucks are being developed for all classes of trucks including, light duty, medium duty.


Light-duty trucks

The EPA defines a light-duty truck to be any truck with a maximum payload capacity of 4,000 pounds and weight of 8,500 pounds (in the US only). In Europe, a light-duty truck is classified as a truck with a maximum weight of 7,720 pounds. The
U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...
defines a light-duty truck to have a maximum weight of 10,000 pounds. Examples of light-duty trucks include
pickup truck A pickup truck or pickup is a Truck_classification#Table_of_US_GVWR_classifications, light or medium duty truck that has an enclosed cabin (truck), cabin, and a back end made up of a cargo bed that is enclosed by three low walls with no roof (th ...
s,
SUV A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive. There is no commonly agreed-upon definition ...
s, and
van A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. There is some variation in the scope of the word across the different English-speaking countries. The smallest vans, microvans, are used for transporting either goods or ...
s. The 2023 Ford F-150 is an example of a light-duty truck with the new Ford BlueCruise 1.2 Technology.


Medium-duty trucks

The U.S. Census Bureau, unlike the EPA, established a third classification for medium duty trucks. A medium-duty truck is classified as a truck with a weight range of 10,000 to 26,000 pounds. Examples of medium-duty trucks include
box truck A box truck—also known as a box van, cube van, bob truck or cube truck—is a chassis cab truck with an enclosed cuboid-shaped cargo area. On most box trucks, the cabin is separate to the cargo area; however some box trucks have a door betwe ...
s and
school bus A school bus is any type of bus owned, leased, contracted to, or operated by a school or school district. It is regularly used to Student transport, transport students to and from school or school-related activities, but not including a charter ...
es. The UK government recently awarded €81 million  for the production of self-driving technology in public buses.


Heavy-duty trucks

The EPA defines a heavy-duty truck to have a minimum weight of 8500 pounds (in the US). The US Census Bureau defines a heavy-duty truck with a minimum weight of 26,000 pounds. Examples of heavy-duty trucks include cement mixers,
mobile crane A mobile crane is a cable-controlled crane mounted on crawlers or rubber-tired carriers or a hydraulic-powered crane with a telescoping boom mounted on truck-type carriers or as self-propelled models. They are designed to easily transport t ...
s, and semi trucks.


SAE levels of self driving

SAE International SAE International is a global professional association and standards organization based in Warrendale, Pennsylvania, United States. Formerly the Society of Automotive Engineers, the organization adopted its current name in 2006 to reflect bot ...
(formerly the Society of Automotive Engineers) defines six levels of driving automation ranging from "No Driving Automation" at level 0 to "Full Driving Automation" at level 5. This classification system is based on the degree of driver intervention required for driving. Levels 0, 1, and 2 focus on driver support features, such as adaptive cruise control and highway lane centering, while levels 3, 4, and 5 focus on completely autonomous features, such as manual steering, control in traffic, and driving "everywhere in all conditions". Self-driving truck technology shares similar characteristics to
self-driving car A self-driving car, also known as an autonomous car (AC), driverless car, robotic car or robo-car, is a car that is capable of operating with reduced or no human input. They are sometimes called robotaxis, though this term refers specifica ...
technology, but additional complexity such as the weight added in the process of carrying freight contribute to some differences. There are currently light-duty trucks on the market, such as Ford's BlueCruise, that contain SAE level 2 features,  but companies like Torc are moving toward level 4 and 5 features. Partially automated
truck platooning In transportation, platooning or flocking is a method for driving a group of vehicles together. It is meant to increase the capacity of roads via an automated highway system. Platoons decrease the distances between cars or trucks using electroni ...
systems contain at least SAE level 1 features and provide economic and environmental benefits.


Technology


Sensors

Sensors, such as
Lidar Lidar (, also LIDAR, an acronym of "light detection and ranging" or "laser imaging, detection, and ranging") is a method for determining ranging, ranges by targeting an object or a surface with a laser and measuring the time for the reflected li ...
,
radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...
,
camera A camera is an instrument used to capture and store images and videos, either digitally via an electronic image sensor, or chemically via a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. As a pivotal technology in the fields of photograp ...
s,
ultrasonic Ultrasound is sound with frequencies greater than 20 kilohertz. This frequency is the approximate upper audible limit of human hearing in healthy young adults. The physical principles of acoustic waves apply to any frequency range, includi ...
, and
GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based hyperbolic navigation system owned by the United States Space Force and operated by Mission Delta 31. It is one of the global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) that provide geol ...
, are crucial to self-driving technology. Due to different sensors performing best at different functions required for autonomous driving and the financial and technological challenges associated with relying on only one sensor, a successful self-driving truck system will likely feature many. Multi-sensor solutions, such as one manufactured by
Continental Continental may refer to: Places * Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US * Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US Arts and entertainment * ''Continental'' (album), an album by Saint Etienne * Continen ...
integrate many pre-calibrated sensors that work synchronously to achieve self-driving features SAE level 4 and above in modern trucks.


Mapping and localization

High-resolution mapping technology, often combined with real-time sensor data, can build and update a detailed map that provides better access to vehicle localization information. An effective mapping technique for self-driving trucks, such as "sparse" mapping proposed by Kodiak, is built to prioritize information specific to topological, geometric, and semantic highway attributes (in alignment with the challenges often encountered by trucks).


Artificial intelligence

Machine learning Machine learning (ML) is a field of study in artificial intelligence concerned with the development and study of Computational statistics, statistical algorithms that can learn from data and generalise to unseen data, and thus perform Task ( ...
is a subset of
artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...
that is well-suited to self-driving truck technology as machine learning algorithms allow the vehicle to learn from its environment and past experiences and make attempts to improve its ability to make more accurate and informed decisions about how to operate on the road. Self-driving truck companies like
Plus Plus or PLUS may refer to: Mathematics * Addition * +, the mathematical sign Music * Plus (band), a Japanese pop boy band Albums and EPs * ''+'' (Ed Sheeran album), (pronounced "plus"), 2011 * ''Plus'' (Astrud Gilberto and James Last album), ...
are developing predictive analytic systems to predict potential hazards and risks a truck may encounter and take proactive measures to avoid accidents or other safety issues. Sensors that measure speed, distance, and distance in combination with a detailed map and an accurate sense of the vehicle's sense of location within that map often provide the input for artificial intelligence systems built to interpret the context. AI also monitors distance, weather conditions, freight density, truck stop and warehouse density, and autonomous vehicle legislation to generate truck routes. Humans are thought to be better than modern artificial intelligence systems at interpreting contextual information when put against modern autonomous vehicle systems, but self-driving artificial intelligence systems are expected to improve exponentially in the next decade.


Navigation and control systems

The software and hardware components govern a truck's steering, acceleration, braking, and other critical functions, such as obstacle avoidance and collision detection. Similar to self-driving cars, self-driving trucks may use a combination of GPS,
inertial measurement unit An inertial measurement unit (IMU) is an electronic device that measures and reports a body's specific force, angular rate, and sometimes the Orientation (geometry), orientation of the body, using a combination of accelerometers, gyroscopes, an ...
s (IMUs), and other sensors to determine their position and orientation on the road such that it can adjust its movements, turn, make stops, gain directional cues, and make decisions on how to operate.


Economics and advancements


Market

The trucking industry in the United States annually generates around $740 billion in revenue. In 2021, there was approximately 2.1 million truck drivers in the United States; American truck drivers earn a median annual salary of $48,310. According to Allied Market Research, the global self-driving truck market may have generated as much as $1 billion in revenue in 2020, and is projected to reach the market size of about $1.7 billion by 2025, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 10.4 percent from 2020 to 2025.


Employment

Economists and policy makers are concerned about the effects of automation and artificial intelligence on employment including whether some kinds of jobs will cease to exist at all, and trucking is the most concerned job. However, Karen Levy is on the view that the path to fully autonomous trucking is likely to be a gradual slope due to social, legal, and cultural factors.


Companies


Safety and regulations

Waymo, formerly the Google Self-Driving Car Project, concluded that self-driving technology could have prevented over half of the fatal automotive collisions within the last ten years. For reference, 4,842 people died in fatal collisions involving trucks in 2020. In the United States, individual states, such as Nevada, have addressed the regulation of self-driving vehicles (including self-driving trucks) since the 2010s. By 2017, 33 states had promulgated regulations for self-driving vehicles. The
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA ) is an agency of the U.S. federal government, part of the Department of Transportation, focused on automobile safety regulations. NHTSA is charged with writing and enforcing Feder ...
(NHTSA) issued new federal guidelines in response to the Self Drive Act concerning Automated Driving Systems (ADS) in autonomous cars and trucks. Components of the 2019 NHTSA guidelines include: * SAE international levels of automation; * Clarification on testing regulation before public ADS operation; * Revisions to the safety self-assessment; * Alignment of federal and state guidelines; * Clarification on federal and state jurisdiction concerning ADS. The NHTSA guidelines were revised in 2016 with a primary focus on lowering the number of fatalities from vehicular accidents. The State of California announced new legislation requiring a human driver to be inside and present on all self-driving vehicles. Besides safety, the motivation for this bill stems from a concern for the trucking workforce. The trucking workforce accounts for 6% of the total U.S. workforce. In 2022, the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
worked to develop legislation to legalize the operation of fully self-driving trucks and buses (SAE Level 4). Part of this legislation includes eliminating the requirement for a human driver inside the vehicle. Germany is the first country in the world to create legal parameters for fully automated cars and trucks in 2021 and 2022.


Challenges

A challenge of self-driving vehicles is identifying liability in collisions, as no driver is present. Furthermore, a challenge with self-driving trucks lies in the regulations and laws surrounding vehicles, such as those that are triggered by a collision. In the U.S., a driver in a crash with a semi-truck may sue the driver and the company to which the driver belongs but not the truck manufacturer. This poses a challenge regarding autonomous trucks as the primary stakeholders, the manufacturers, would not be legally responsible for any collisions. Additionally, the rise of self-driving vehicles may create a need for designated lanes and parking areas, as many roads and cities are not designed for autonomous vehicles. This expands to the main challenge of the community's safety with autonomous vehicles. A main challenge for autonomous vehicles is the shift from needing a safety driver inside the vehicle. Many car manufacturers are pushing for the shift away from safety drivers to fully deliver on the impact of autonomous vehicles. Until manufacturers can go without safety drivers in the vehicle, there exists a challenge in the premise of autonomous vehicles. Finally, autonomous vehicles are not currently designed to handle sudden changes in traffic, such as a freeway closure or live collision. While autonomous vehicles can currently switch lanes and enter merging traffic, they are not designed to interpret sudden traffic situations.


References

{{Self-driving cars and enabling technologies Trucks * Automotive technologies