TuSimple, a startup that develops technology for autonomous driving , has made what she herself defines “the first trip into the world of a completely autonomous truck on open public roads without human presence and without human intervention”.
According to what is also learned from a video that immortalized the event, the truck traveled the 100% of the 128 kilometers (about the distance that separates Milan from Parma) along roads and highways between a train station in Tucson, Arizona and a distribution center in Phoenix. S. with no person inside the cabin.
The trip lasted one hour and 20 minutes and the route is known to be as an important road traveled by freight vehicles. With this event, the company may be closer to its goal of integrating its technology into trucks specifically designed for autonomous driving by 2024.
And while the truck was transporting goods, the focus of this autopilot was more technological than commercial. During the night trip, the truck dealt with road signs, entrance and exit ramps, vehicles in the emergency lane e lane changes on the motorway in “normal” traffic conditions.
TuSimple, a big step forward in autonomous driving in trucks
The program of this test is called “Driver Out” and was carried out for a year and a half, during which the self-driving trucks traveled 241.401 km his 1,800 streets. The tests will certainly continue in 2022 as well.
“We must have on a route and a type of vehicle the ability to have all the functionalities that can be operated without a driver on the road and have the level of reliability necessary to get the driver out”, said Cheng Lu, CEO from TuSimple at TechCrunch.
With this test, the autonomous driving system reaches the level four, i.e. the vehicle can embark on a journey completely by itself e do not require the intervention of a human being .
However, as a precaution and for greater safety, the US road patrols have manned the truck about a kilometer and a half from it. Also, about eight kilometers ahead was traveling a inspection vehicle which had the task of identifying anomalies on the road.