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The most likely thing (imo) that will happen will be highway trains...there will be a real human driver in the front of the caravan, maybe just in a van or car,
by dchuk 9y ago
The most likely thing (imo) that will happen will be highway trains...there will be a real human driver in the front of the caravan, maybe just in a van or car, and then 1-10 self driving heavy duty trucks behind them. They'll draft off of each other and do 99% of the long haul route in an automated way.
Once each truck is near it's destination, it will peel off of the pack and park itself near the highway, at which point a real driver will hop in and finish the route.
I work in the telematics space, and work with extremely large fleets that you'd all recognize on the highway every day. None of them are afraid of self driving trucks disrupting them any time soon. However, these automated caravans could be their first opportunity to restructure the flow of their capacity across the country.
- autokad 9y agoit seems they would need to build additional infrastructure. its my understanding that truckers would already like to caravan behind one another in very long chains (save lots of fuel), but its illegal due to traffic and safety concerns for other drivers.
- Terr_ 9y agoToo bad that all the "speculative VC dollars" seem to be in trying to jump directly to full-automation of multiple small passenger vehicles. Now, I've never heard any public figure say this out loud -- so maybe I'm just barking up the wrong tree -- but I think the bandwagon is being pulled by a very particular idea about a market they can try to corner. Specifically, they're thinking of a future demographic bump in people who are too age-impaired to safely and legally drive themselves. Folks who can't (or won't) pay another human to drive, or move to a location with better public-transit, but who still have enough affluence for a self-driving car. IMO it explains the bubbly frenzied focus from multiple companies, despite the significant degree of basic research still required.
- TeMPOraL 9y agoPart of the allure of self-driving cars is drastic reduction of traffic deaths. Long-haul drivers are not the one who kill themselves on the road the most; regular people are. I'm not saying this is the driving force behind focus of companies, but it's an important consideration for many individuals in this space.
- petra 9y agoIn these times, you need very little to start a bubble.
- WalterBright 9y agoIt just seems bizarre that "highway trains" have to be reinvented alongside railroad tracks.
- Chaebixi 9y agoI don't think a rail train could detach a car from the middle without stopping and park it on the side of the track.
- jackvalentine 9y agoFrom the middle no, but it's been done from the end - you just have to plan the makeup of your train.
- foobarian 9y agoSure but then a driver can hop into the truck and drive it to the local Walmart.
- dchuk 9y agoTrains go to many less places than highways do at this point.
- WalterBright 9y agoTracks go to all large cities.
- malandrew 9y agoWhat are the names of some of these companies in the trucking telematics space? Curious to know more about what they track.
- dchuk 9y ago(Not being a jerk) if you just Google "truck telematics" the front page (and ads) are basically the big players. There are many more who you'll never hear about too. They generally track the Tractor (truck) and Trailer, and also provide regulatory (hours of service) and Dispatch (sending jobs to drivers). They also do a million other things, but that's the gist.
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- alacombe 9y ago> The most likely thing (imo) that will happen will be highway trains It already happens according to legislation. Though, these vehicle are generally limited to 2 trailers, restricted to some loads), if road condition allows it.
- tantalor 9y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_combination_vehicle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_combination_vehicle
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