The End of the Road for Traditional Trucking? Driverless Trucks May Be a Reality in 10 Years

In 2025, you might look into your car rear-view mirror and see a driverless truck behind you, predicts German automobile manufacturer, Daimler. Along with this prediction come benefitsfor the European - and possibly global - cargo industry. During the recent Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung (IAA), or the German Automobile Show for Commercial Vehicles, Daimler unveiled the Mercedes-Benz Future Truck 2025, a revolutionary vehicle that could be seen on highways in less than a decade.

In Daimler's model, truck drivers would become “transport managers”, operating in attractive workplaces with new and more interesting job responsibilities. The trucks employ “Highway Pilot&rdqrdquo; systems that enable the vehicle to communicate with its environment and drive autonomously. After merging with the traffic flow, the driver simply actives the “Highway Pilot” and pivots the seat to the co-driver´s side where they can use the removable tablet computer to communicate with the outside world.

You can see how the truck and its cabin look in the following video.

Among many obstacles that any autonomous   vehicle will encounter is the legality of driving on public roads in most countries. Daimler would like to work with any country that is open to introducing their technology within a suitable legal framework.

The future of trucking

When looking at the bigger picture, Daimler´s Future Truck could provide a solution for Europe. The continent struggles with high fuel cost, increased regulations and a shortage of professional drivers. The Daimler trucks promise more efficiency thus improving fuel economy, reduction of CO2-emissions and safer traffic.

The profession of the driver would also change – being an operator of a self-directed truck will make it less stressful and more varied. The technology would make the truck driving more appealing which is necessary in a situation when the shipping industry is facing the likelihood of driver unavailability in the coming years. 

Logistics experts also agree that cargo transportation in Europe will increase significantly in the future and the main burden will lie on the trucking industry. For example, Germany might expect a 38% increase in road freight by 2030 and some studies even suggest that the increase could be as high as 50% in Europe by 2050.

Volvo takes a different take

It is worth noting that Daimler is not the only company working on this futuristic technology. Volvo already introduced its “Road Train” system, where cars can communicate with each other - the lead vehicle wirelessly guiding a platoon of trucks like a train.

Photo courtesy of Daimler AG