GREENSBORO, North Carolina—Autonomous trucking means more than just a truck that can drive itself. It means a network of dedicated, coordinated infrastructure to make self-driving trucks a viable solution for meeting freight demand.
That is what Sasko Cuklev, head of on-road solutions for Volvo Autonomous Solutions, presented to media here.
“It is not as simple as many thought in the beginning; ‘Just give me your truck, we will upfit it, and then it will drive.’ There is something else that is required,” Cuklev said.
See also: How autonomous trucking is already transforming logistics
A new form of transportation
Autonomous trucking will not be so simple as augmenting carriers’ typical operations with an autonomous driving system.
“We should see this as a new way of transporting freight,” Cuklev said. Autonomous trucking could be a wholly separate form of transportation alongside rail, ship, and traditional trucking.
Autonomous trucks are not replacing traditional drivers any time soon, according to Volvo. While autonomous operations show great promise in increasing truck utilization, they also have unique needs compared to traditional trucking. To be as safe and efficient as possible, autonomous trucks would need catered equipment, infrastructure, and routes.
Still, as demand for freight movement increases, autonomous trucks have an opportunity to move goods with high efficiency. The National Transportation Research Group estimates that the weight of freight moved in the U.S. could increase 64% by 2050 and the Department of Transportation makes similar projections.
“All the predictions are showing that there will be increasing demand and we will need to have these types of solutions,” Cuklev said.
See also: Fleets Explained: Autonomous vehicles
Crossing the middle mile
Volvo’s plans to launch its first two autonomous U.S. truck routes in Texas: from Dallas to Houston and Fort Worth to El Paso.
The routes provide Volvo a suitable environment to build out autonomous vehicle infrastructure and showcase the trucks’ operations. However, these routes don’t meet the best use case for modern autonomous trucking.
“It’s not optimal from a business value perspective; I would say it’s almost too short,” Cuklev said. “When you get the longer stretches, that’s where you can get value out of autonomy.”
Autonomous truck developers are instead looking at the middle mile as an ideal application for AVs. Cuklev called long-haul, hub-to-hub operations “the holy grail of autonomous.”
First- and last-mile operations can be complicated and challenging for AVs. Routine operations in a highway haul, on the other hand, are where autonomous systems can shine.
“We will move the complexity that the first and the last stretch gives, so that we can focus on running autonomously between A and B,” Cuklev said.
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