Self-driving trucks hit the highway - 20th January 2023

The Swedish heavy goods vehicles (HGV) manufacturer Scania has begun piloting autonomous vehicles for haulage. At this point in the development process, despite the presence of a driver poised at the steering wheel, the vehicle's actually self-driving while delivering consignments of goods.

At first glance, there's nothing exceptional about the lorry, save for a rack on the roof loaded with cameras and sensory equipment, such as lidars. Inside the cab, small gadgets and screens feedback to a computer and analytical data compiled from the sensors and GPS effectively operate the lorry. Göran Fjällid, on Scania's engineering team, explains.

Göran Fjällid: "This was a normal truck but they have put a lot of sensors in the truck. This was a lidar. It was a light and the second lidar and we have the third lidar in the front."

Göran Fjällid: "And we have the other sensor in the roof. It was 10 cameras and one lidar, long distance lidar, and we have GPS and some other sensors."

If anything goes amiss, every move is monitored back at control headquarters. Under Scania's supervision, corrections can immediately be put in place, or otherwise the safety driver can simply hit the gas to take over control of the HGV.

A host of countries across the globe are in the competition to develop autonomous vehicles, motivated by the fact that hauliers are in short supply - in 2021 there were apparently 2.6 million empty vacancies for drivers worldwide. Scania's vice-president Peter Hafmar maintains that other relevant bonuses include road safety and fuel consumption.

Peter Hafmar: "Then we'll also have safety. The computer and the sensor sets are very safe so they don't get distracted with check their phones or something like that. And also they have the environmental aspect that, well we don't have to focus on drivers' hours. We can drive all 24/7 and we can reduce the speed, which then reduce the energy consumption, so we don't have to charge the vehicle."

Although there are a number of hurdles to overcome, such as meeting legislative demands in different countries, it's foreseeable that autonomous vehicles may well be a familiar sight on our roads within the ensuing decade.