Embracing an Autonomous Future

The future of trucking is happening right now. International Truck is currently validating level 4 autonomous vehicles with safety drivers.

AS AUTONOMOUS DRIVING TECHNOLOGY CONTINUES TO IMPROVE, PROFESSIONALS THROUGHOUT THE COMMERCIAL TRUCKING INDUSTRY ARE ASKING THREE QUESTIONS:

HOW CAN I LEVERAGE IT?

WHEN CAN I USE IT?

WHAT BENEFITS ARE IN IT FOR ME?

To help answer those questions, International Truck is developing an autonomous vehicle pilot program in partnership with autonomous trucking software solutions provider Plus, along with fellow TRATON GROUP members Scania AB and MAN Truck & Bus.

“This partnership with Plus allows us to leverage the technical strides they have made as we work together to focus on the commercial viability of Level 4 autonomous driving.”

TOBIAS GLITTERSTAM / CHIEF STRATEGY AND TRANSFORMATION OFFICER / INTERNATIONAL

GOING HUB TO HUB

Why start with hub-to-hub operations? Representing 25 billion miles of long-distance freight on U.S. highways, it’s an immediately addressable, high-volume, and scalable market. The lessons learned here will help shape solutions for the full range of International Truck customers.

SAFETY FIRST

There are many concerns driving the freight industry toward autonomous driving but none more important than safety. “In an autonomous world, the vehicle can understand road conditions ahead. You can see vehicles coming side-to-side, and that allows you to better control the environment of that unit,” said Chet Ciesielski, Vice President, On-Highway Business, International, Inc.

POWER OF THE NETWORK

With centralized, remote monitoring and diagnostics, autonomous truck technology provides fleets with an enhanced level of control and awareness of what is happening both in and around their vehicle. “We’ll use our connected technologies to stay connected to the vehicles—where those trucks are going, what they’re doing and how they’re performing,” said Ciesielski.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Eventually, autonomous vehicles will be able to communicate with traffic infrastructure and other autonomous vehicles. This will enable vehicles to anticipate road conditions further ahead, make automatic adjustments and coordinate traffic flow—preventing delays and improving efficiencies even more.

“We are committed to being a trusted partner as we seek to develop solutions for autonomous driving technology that increase our customers’ operating efficiencies, improve road safety, and alleviate strains in the supply chain.”

CHET CIESIELSKI / VICE PRESIDENT / INTERNATIONAL TRUCK ON-HIGHWAY

This program is an important step in developing autonomous vehicle technology solutions for the commercial market that help fleets operate more safely and efficiently, as well as help address important issues like driver shortages. Stay tuned as International Truck helps build the future of freight transportation.

This article originally appeared on InternationalTrucks.com. International Trucks is the previous legal name of International Motors LLC.