The Future Of Freight Has Arrived With The Launch Of Driverless Trucks

The autonomous vehicle industry has soared even higher with driverless trucks being sent off on journeys. On the first of week of June, The Guardian reported a convoy of six semi-automated trucks' completion of a European cross-border trip. The trip started from the trucks' production bases in Germany, Belgium, Denmark, and Sweden and finished the journey in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

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This so-called “truck platooning” allows trucks to drive autonomously while following the leading truck's route and speed through a wireless technology. A human driver drove the leading truck. Despite the technology that allows the trucks to maintain a speed and route set by the leading truck, regulations still required human drivers to be in each truck. The trucks were developed by various brands such as Volvo and Daimler, among others. What are the benefits that driverless trucks can offer to the trucking industry and to the economy?

Truck platooning promises lower fuel consumption. It allows the trucks to drive faster and closer to each other, resulting in a shorter time of trip completion. Research finds that truck platooning uses up to 10 percent less fuel.

In addition, deploying autonomous cars provides more space for other vehicles and eases the flow of traffic. Since these trucks are automated, distractions cannot affect them. Hence, they can maintain speed and use the brakes efficiently. They could boost traffic safety and reduce the surging number of truck accidents in the country. Productivity will also increase as autonomous cars can operate nearly 24 hours in the future, which will double the transportation network output.

Image source: uk.news.yahoo.com

Indeed, human beings' vision of having artificial intelligence drive vehicles is rapidly becoming a reality this century.

A skilled investor and entrepreneur, Fred. B. Barbara has grown a small trucking business into a multimillion dollar enterprise. He is currently a board member in various companies such as Millennium Trust Company and Evergreen Environmental Energy. Follow this Twitter account for updates on investment and entrepreneurship.