The pace of democracy is the “snail’s pace” – that’s what Helmut Schmidt once said – and that’s how Winfried Kretschmann quoted it at the premiere of the first “autonomous” truck on a German highway.
Highway Pilot - Autonomous Mercedes-Benz truck on the A8
While politics, to paraphrase Helmut Schmidt, is still being discussed, the automobile manufacturers are much further along. Mercedes-Benz presented the first autonomous truck on a German highway today (October 2, 2015). On the A8 between Denkendorf and Stuttgart, the Daimler AG board member responsible for the “Trucks and Buses” division, Dr. Wolfgang Bernhard, together with the Prime Minister of Baden-Württemberg, Winfried Kretschmann, developed the first truck that can drive autonomously.
Mercedes-Benz calls the system “Highway Pilot”. This system is intended to provide maximum relief for the driver in his everyday life as a trucker. Based on a combination of front radar and stereo camera in the windshield, the system is able to keep the truck on track independently. The combination with the already known assistance systems such as the cruise control and its “adaptive cruise control” already enables semi-autonomous driving in daily traffic.
Although the politics and the decisions for the implementation of the fully-autonomous driving is still in the snail's pace, the series Actros, which started live on the road today on the A8, can be significantly faster! But no, he does not start in series, not every day on the A8. The whole spectacle is still a demonstration of the feasible, a start into a test operation.
Up to 80 km/h “partially autonomous”
The truck presented today is a “test vehicle” from Daimler AG, based on a series truck from the Actros series.
The Daimler pioneering spirit is also in this truck that day. With the premiere and approval of a “partially autonomous” truck, the Stuttgart-based company is the first to use it on public roads. The test truck will always have a driver on board. Still – as the snail-like speed of politics says – a driver is always on board. This person is responsible and can intervene at any time.
But the future becomes visible, recognizable. Because this truck is more than a study, more than just an “experiment”. The truck receives its “partial autonomy” via modules, as are also known from the group’s S-Class. And when the new E-Class comes onto the market in the spring, you will probably find the highway pilot there too... the future is near...
