Daimler Trucks used the exhibition floor at this year’s ACT Expo as a fitting stage to present attendees with a technology demo of its battery-electric autonomous vehicle Freightliner eCascadia, giving attendees a glimpse into the not-so-distant future of commercial trucking. .
The truck is based on the production battery-electric Freightliner eCascadia and features self-driving software from Torc Robotics and the latest Level 4 sensor and computing technology. OEMs are using this model as a research and advanced engineering project, but the combination of these cutting-edge technologies may one day be delivered to fleets to meet specific operational needs.
“Combining zero-emissions and self-driving technologies in one product will help our customers meet the challenges of the future,” said John O’Leary, president and CEO of Daimler Trucks North America. “We are testing solutions to deaf challenges.” “We want to give them options that allow them to do what they do best: keep the world moving not only now but well into the future. It took a lot of foresight, questioning, testing, learning, improving, and co-creating with our customers. This truck is a great example of the beginning of that development process.”
Currently being tested in hub-to-hub applications, the truck’s purpose is to drive autonomously between freight centers along U.S. highways, exploring the nexus between zero emissions and autonomous infrastructure. For example, charging infrastructure and autonomous cargo hubs can be combined to simultaneously charge and load, making carriers even more efficient.
“Together with Torc, we are making significant progress towards deploying self-driving trucks in the United States by 2027,” said Joanna Butler, Head of Global Autonomous Driving Technology Group at Daimler Trucks. . “While this first market launch targets self-driving trucks with traditional propulsion technology, we are always looking to the future. We are working with our fleet customers to explore the most promising use cases. “We will continue to take an iterative approach to developing, testing, and optimizing autonomous electrical technologies.”
Daimler Trucks has been developing and testing self-driving truck technology since 2015 and announced the Freightliner Inspiration truck as the first SAE Level 2 self-driving commercial truck certified for U.S. public roads. did. The company aims to enter the mass production market for its SAE Level 4 self-driving trucks in the United States by 2027. Torc, Daimler Trucks’ technology partner, has been testing self-driving-enabled Freightliner Cascadia trucks in real-world applications with selected logistics companies such as Schneider and CR England. Over the past year, we successfully moved customer cargo autonomously on a test route between Phoenix and Oklahoma City.
