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Does a self-driving truck need a sleeper cab? Is the sleeper compartment filled with equipment?

by VectorLock 7y ago

bowmessage 7y ago
Most likely there are drivers still on board to monitor and drive first and last mile.
- VectorLock 7y ago
  They just chill in the sleeper cab the whole way and then "pilot" the last mile?
  - milofeynman 7y ago
    I don't think any laws allow for fully autonomous. I believe they require someone to be there to take over at all times.
  - Loughla 7y ago
    I'm getting flashes of youth, living as new nomads inside the self-driving truck they are leasing from a company. I think the future I see is both dumb and terrifying.
    - omegaworks 7y ago
      What is old is new again. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freighthopping https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freighthopping
  - tialaramex 7y ago
    Professional driving comes with hours limitations. In most industrialised countries you can't work more than so-and-so many hours driving without so-and-so many hours of rest (I don't know what the US rules are but I know they have them). But as just a passenger, aboard the truck but not driving it, you aren't using up those precious hours. I can see this making sense where the driver also has some skilled role at both ends, e.g. supervising loading and unloading of a particular type of cargo. Otherwise it may be just as sensible to build giant truck parking lots at key locations on big highways and have a human board trucks when they get to the closest lot to the final destination. In that model all truck drivers would go home every day, which means it's a less well paid job but also one that's more compatible with having a life outside work - long distance trucking would become something trucks do but drivers don't.
    - UI_at_80x24 7y ago
      >But as just a passenger, aboard the truck but not driving it, you aren't using up those precious hours. This is inaccurate. If you are sitting in the passenger seat you are classified as "On-Duty Not Driving" You are only 'resting' (aka "Off-Duty") when you are in the bunk.
      - Aloha 7y ago
        This however is frequently violated and widely ignored, as there is no enforcement mechanism, when I teamed, I'd do my 8 hours of sleep, then come up at sit with my co-driver and talk with him about the day ahead as he drove until it was time to stop
        UI_at_80x24 7y ago
        Very true.
        luma 7y ago
        Had you already transitioned to electronic logbook? Faking the log entries isn't as easy as it used to be.
        Aloha 7y ago
        How does the electronic logbook tell if I'm in the bunk or in the seat? its smart, but not that smart.
  - JCharante 7y ago
    Sounds like airplane pilots
  - paxys 7y ago
    They don't have to be there the entire time. They can get on/off at a stop close to the city, for example.
    - VectorLock 7y ago
      Do they need a sleeper cab for that and not just a passenger seat?
whalesalad 7y ago
Hard to find a chassis with the rest of the accoutrements for long-haul trucking (fuel tanks, etc..) without a sleeper cab.
markstos 7y ago
Expect a transition with a human still onboard to last for a while.
trenning 7y ago
For long haul you'd still want someone riding in the cab who can do basic maint I think, plus off loading the truck a lot of the times is the duty of the driver. Some companies advertise 'never tarp again!' because tarping your load on flatbeds is the driver's responsibility. Also for in-transit maint airlines need repair, trailer power needs to be checked especially for reefers. I'm not sure about otr truckers but for ltl the driver is offloading trailer. I can see the training and responsibilities shift as things become more automated, but for what a driver costs, I can't see them getting rid of an incab person for otr trips which leave the city. The response time and costs for fixing minor maint like a broken air line would be crazy. Also someone gotta fill those tanks up.
- Aloha 7y ago
  Using a mix of automated and human drivers (aka, the AI is one half of a team) seems like a great way to go. Consider that there is very little freight that goes longer than 500 mi without either being on a team or on the rail.
- Qworg 7y ago
  There will be one "driver" as a tender for 10+ trucks in a convoy.
- nostrademons 7y ago
  Why would you have the driver ride along for the long-haul, rather than have the truck drive autonomously between cities and then pick up a driver once it gets to the destination metro area for last-mile/unloading/maintenance? The bulk of the time (= labor costs) from trucking is on the interstates, and as an added perk, this would allow truckers to work 9-5 and stay close to their families rather than being on the road all the time.
jchoong 7y ago
No need if you can have the drive unit changed just off the highway in a well mapped/instrumented yard. eg. highway (fully automated truck) <> yard (switch out container/trailer from self-driving truck to manned/normal trucks) <> local (manned)

Does a self-driving truck need a sleeper cab? Is the sleeper compartment filled with equipment?

bowmessage 7y ago

Most likely there are drivers still on board to monitor and drive first and last mile.

VectorLock 7y ago
They just chill in the sleeper cab the whole way and then "pilot" the last mile?
- milofeynman 7y ago
  I don't think any laws allow for fully autonomous. I believe they require someone to be there to take over at all times.
- Loughla 7y ago
  I'm getting flashes of youth, living as new nomads inside the self-driving truck they are leasing from a company. I think the future I see is both dumb and terrifying.
  - omegaworks 7y ago
    What is old is new again. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freighthopping https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freighthopping
- tialaramex 7y ago
  Professional driving comes with hours limitations. In most industrialised countries you can't work more than so-and-so many hours driving without so-and-so many hours of rest (I don't know what the US rules are but I know they have them). But as just a passenger, aboard the truck but not driving it, you aren't using up those precious hours. I can see this making sense where the driver also has some skilled role at both ends, e.g. supervising loading and unloading of a particular type of cargo. Otherwise it may be just as sensible to build giant truck parking lots at key locations on big highways and have a human board trucks when they get to the closest lot to the final destination. In that model all truck drivers would go home every day, which means it's a less well paid job but also one that's more compatible with having a life outside work - long distance trucking would become something trucks do but drivers don't.
  - UI_at_80x24 7y ago
    >But as just a passenger, aboard the truck but not driving it, you aren't using up those precious hours. This is inaccurate. If you are sitting in the passenger seat you are classified as "On-Duty Not Driving" You are only 'resting' (aka "Off-Duty") when you are in the bunk.
    - Aloha 7y ago
      This however is frequently violated and widely ignored, as there is no enforcement mechanism, when I teamed, I'd do my 8 hours of sleep, then come up at sit with my co-driver and talk with him about the day ahead as he drove until it was time to stop
      - UI_at_80x24 7y ago
        Very true.
      - luma 7y ago
        Had you already transitioned to electronic logbook? Faking the log entries isn't as easy as it used to be.
        Aloha 7y ago
        How does the electronic logbook tell if I'm in the bunk or in the seat? its smart, but not that smart.
- JCharante 7y ago
  Sounds like airplane pilots
- paxys 7y ago
  They don't have to be there the entire time. They can get on/off at a stop close to the city, for example.
  - VectorLock 7y ago
    Do they need a sleeper cab for that and not just a passenger seat?

whalesalad 7y ago

Hard to find a chassis with the rest of the accoutrements for long-haul trucking (fuel tanks, etc..) without a sleeper cab.

markstos 7y ago

Expect a transition with a human still onboard to last for a while.

trenning 7y ago

For long haul you'd still want someone riding in the cab who can do basic maint I think, plus off loading the truck a lot of the times is the duty of the driver. Some companies advertise 'never tarp again!' because tarping your load on flatbeds is the driver's responsibility. Also for in-transit maint airlines need repair, trailer power needs to be checked especially for reefers. I'm not sure about otr truckers but for ltl the driver is offloading trailer. I can see the training and responsibilities shift as things become more automated, but for what a driver costs, I can't see them getting rid of an incab person for otr trips which leave the city. The response time and costs for fixing minor maint like a broken air line would be crazy. Also someone gotta fill those tanks up.

Aloha 7y ago
Using a mix of automated and human drivers (aka, the AI is one half of a team) seems like a great way to go. Consider that there is very little freight that goes longer than 500 mi without either being on a team or on the rail.
Qworg 7y ago
There will be one "driver" as a tender for 10+ trucks in a convoy.
nostrademons 7y ago
Why would you have the driver ride along for the long-haul, rather than have the truck drive autonomously between cities and then pick up a driver once it gets to the destination metro area for last-mile/unloading/maintenance? The bulk of the time (= labor costs) from trucking is on the interstates, and as an added perk, this would allow truckers to work 9-5 and stay close to their families rather than being on the road all the time.

jchoong 7y ago

No need if you can have the drive unit changed just off the highway in a well mapped/instrumented yard. eg. highway (fully automated truck) <> yard (switch out container/trailer from self-driving truck to manned/normal trucks) <> local (manned)