The Inspiration Truck and Daimler's underlying "Highway Pilot" technology isn't meant to replace truck drivers completely. Instead, it's meant to solve the problem of fatigued driving, something that plagues truck drivers who have to pull long shifts. According to Daimler, 90 percent of truck crashes result from driver error, and in one out of every eight of those cases driver fatigue plays a role.
Dr. Wolfgang Bernhard, Daimler AG's truck boss, says that the Inspiration Truck mitigates that problem significantly. At a media event before the unveiling, he spoke about how taking control away from drivers positively impacts their ability to focus for long periods of time. "We measured brain activity with or without autonomous function, and it clearly shows that driver drowsiness decreases by about 25 percent when the truck is operating in autonomous mode," he said.
WHERE DOES THE BLAME GET PLACED IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG?
Bernhard compared it to the control a pilot has over a commercial airliner. "Technically speaking these vehicles are operating 'partly automated,'" he said. "So [the driver] is still in charge of what happens. He’s responsible."
Another big issue is whether the Inspiration Truck will need any additional infrastructure as its production scales up. Bernhard said no, and he and the company plan to show us what he means at a much more hands-on event later today. The only thing that can assist them right now are the white guidelines painted onto the roads, which he claims are "fully intact" or can be repaired at a low cost in many states. While things like a broader infrastructure or vehicle-to-vehicle communication would bring additional benefits, the Inspiration Truck can operate at level 3 autonomy without any extra help. "That vehicle does not need any support other than nice white stripes," he said.
"Obviously there's some more testing we have to do," Bernhard said. "We have to see how this thing performs in the rain, the sun, cold days, or at subzero." That's something that Daimler will have to wait for, as other states could be slow to adapt the same self-driving-friendly regulation that Nevada already has. Bernhard also pointed out that just getting a "patchwork of states" on board won't help — particularly since big rigs often operate interstate — and as Daum sees it, state regulation is just the beginning. Federal regulation will be necessary before we see a fleet of Inspiration Trucks (or other trucks running Daimler's Highway Pilot technology) swarm the highways.
Full story at YouTube.
