XPO | Only A Matter of Time Before Self-Driving Trucks come our Way?

[renegaderider]

You can bury your head in the sand but , it's coming sooner rather than later. An autonomous truck will be able to out react any human because they can see everywhere at the same time, computers that are in your car react and send commands in milliseconds, how long does it take you to see the deer, figure out what the deer is going to do, and react? Don't get me wrong I'm no fan of autonomous anything, but I can see it's here now and it isn't going away.

All I agree it's coming. You do know they have had sum accidents already in these vehicles but shifted the blame because they know the outcry from public would be. I'm just saying autonomous gone have there problems too hell a simple cell phone freezes up every 2 hrs LOL

 

[big ben]

It will just be another tool used by the company to say here's your 5 cent an hour raise and if you don't like your replacement is sitting write over there that doesn't need a driver. So take it or leave it.

 

[Serene Gene]

Autonomous trucks are the perfect tool for line haul, P&D not so much.

OTR are the ones that should be worried. Autonomous trucks could deliver themselves via major routes to a warehouse without stopping and then the warehouse could have a spotter to back the entire rig to a door and return it to a staging area. LTL linehaul could be done the same way, but the difference is that unused linehaul guys can fold back into P&D. (It's not going to be in anyone's best interest to be at the bottom of a board somewhere when that happens.) It's probably going to be much harder for many OTR drivers to adjust to a corporate customer service position. It will be interesting to see what happens with regard to the driver shortage- it'd be convenient for automation to just push CDLs into local jobs that have trouble filling driver seats.

 

[Serene Gene]

Seems to me like you would model these vehicles and/or their software after successful drivers and their driving habits.

I don't think that's necessary- our driving habits and defensive driving techniques are all designed around our human flaws, which a computer will not have. Like Joe's Bar said, the ability to have constant attention everywhere at once with lightning fast reaction times makes a lot of our safe driving habits needlessly inefficient.

 

[Fly-by-night]

Ask yourself , " Would I get in a car with no human driver if it pulled up right now? "

There's testing for these vehicles now and in California manufacturers/testers of driverless vehicles asked for and received permission to make these vehicles without conventional steering wheels and pedal controls. Just a dash and a seat.

Hacking is a real threat. If cell phones , TV's , computers , email , anything electronic and connected to the internet have and can be hacked - what do you think will happen to a set of doubles pulling hazmat at 2am south of Chicago?

And like it was mentioned above , a proof of concept would be trains. It would be a LOT less challenging to automate trains on so many levels , yet there's little talk of this happening anytime soon. I will say I have used automated trains at major airports though.

People also forget about system crashes or updates that make it run worst. You all see it here when the system goes down or the update to the handhelds. The handhelds were great when we first got them now 25updates later look how they run. Yes cars break down but image the system controlling this vehicles crashed.
The computer age is great but the old way of doing things is dying hell even dead. I think my FOS's head would explode if the computer crashed. Remember we are only a few fried motherboards away from being sent into the stone age and all us old people would be the smartest ones on the earth.

 

[Fly-by-night]

I don't think that's necessary- our driving habits and defensive driving techniques are all designed around our human flaws, which a computer will not have. Like Joe's Bar said, the ability to have constant attention everywhere at once with lightning fast reaction times makes a lot of our safe driving habits needlessly inefficient.

True, but what about feel. Have you every driven a TT simulator. There is no feel in a simulator. How many time over the years of driving did you say "something doesn't feel right" and you were correct? Years ago I had a straight truck hit the side of my trailer. I never saw him hit me but I felt it. The point I getting at is the amount of sensors that will be need on TT along with the very high maintenance they will require. Hell we can't even get the engine codes fix now or even some of the small issue we have with these trucks now think about all those sensor the robot truck will have.

 

[joes bar and grill]

True, but what about feel. Have you every driven a TT simulator. There is no feel in a simulator. How many time over the years of driving did you say "something doesn't feel right" and you were correct? Years ago I had a straight truck hit the side of my trailer. I never saw him hit me but I felt it. The point I getting at is the amount of sensors that will be need on TT along with the very high maintenance they will require. Hell we can't even get the engine codes fix now or even some of the small issue we have with these trucks now think about all those sensor the robot truck will have.

For about 20 years now planes have been fly by wire and with very few exceptions all of the crashes have been on takeoff and landing, when the human is in control.

 

[SAC75]

For about 20 years now planes have been fly by wire and with very few exceptions all of the crashes have been on takeoff and landing, when the human is in control.

How about trains. They have had the technology for 15 years or more but it's illegal for them on open track. Switch yards can use them and very few do. One accident can stop all of it.

 

[Fly-by-night]

For about 20 years now planes have been fly by wire and with very few exceptions all of the crashes have been on takeoff and landing, when the human is in control.

Even when the pilot flies the plane he flies by wire. If drive one of the new freightliner for some part you drive by wire. Automatic transmission is by wire so is the accelerator. The fly by wire is not what you think it is.

 

[joes bar and grill]

Even when the pilot flies the plane he flies by wire. If drive one of the new freightliner for some part you drive by wire. Automatic transmission is by wire so is the accelerator. The fly by wire is not what you think it is.

My terminology may have been wrong, the point I was making is aside from takeoff and landing the plane flies itself with no input from the pilot.

 

[icuicp]

My terminology may have been wrong, the point I was making is aside from takeoff and landing the plane flies itself with no input from the pilot.

But , the pilot is still there.

 

[joes bar and grill]

But , the pilot is still there.

Because he has to land the plane

 

[Fly-by-night]

My terminology may have been wrong, the point I was making is aside from takeoff and landing the plane flies itself with no input from the pilot.

Last I knew the pilot has to input the heading, speed and altitude it to the auto pilot which is given to them from ground control. The big different is planes have a flight path and fly pretty much straight. The last time I flew I don't recall turning left and right like on an interstate and if any course correction was need it was input by the pilot.
You can't comparing auto/truck to trains or airplanes trains are on a fix set of tracks and planes flight path can be variety in course and altitude.

 

[joes bar and grill]

Last I knew the pilot has to input the heading, speed and altitude it to the auto pilot which is given to them from ground control. The big different is planes have a flight path and fly pretty much straight. The last time I flew I don't recall turning left and right like on an interstate and if any course correction was need it was input by the pilot.
You can't comparing auto/truck to trains or airplanes trains are on a fix set of tracks and planes flight path can be variety in course and altitude.

I wasn't comparing, just pointing out that the technology is over 20 years old not new and untested.

 

[icuicp]

Because he has to land the plane

Does the pilot have to land the plane? Or are we back to what are people - the general public , comfortable with?

There have been enough advancements to the point were a plane can take off and land itself ( or this can easily be done remotely if the plane was equipped properly )

You know pilots tend to have STRONG unions. Imagine the conflict when some company does decide to go with FULL automation ( after overcoming regulatory issues and public resistance to pilotless planes )

 

[joes bar and grill]

Does the pilot have to land the plane? Or are we back to what are people - the general public , comfortable with?

There have been enough advancements to the point were a plane can take off and land itself ( or this can easily be done remotely if the plane was equipped properly )

You know pilots tend to have STRONG unions. Imagine the conflict when some company does decide to go with FULL automation ( after overcoming regulatory issues and public resistance to pilotless planes )

In 73 I talked to the pilot of a C5 Galaxy, which at the time was the largest aircraft (and may still be) he said once airborne he does nothing until time to land.

 

[highspeeds]

Does the pilot have to land the plane? Or are we back to what are people - the general public , comfortable with?

There have been enough advancements to the point were a plane can take off and land itself ( or this can easily be done remotely if the plane was equipped properly )

You know pilots tend to have STRONG unions. Imagine the conflict when some company does decide to go with FULL automation ( after overcoming regulatory issues and public resistance to pilotless planes )

The airline industry got deregulated, too. And it hurt the pilots, too.

 

[highspeeds]

In 73 I talked to the pilot of a C5 Galaxy, which at the time was the largest aircraft (and may still be) he said once airborne he does nothing until time to land.

Not only that. But the plane lands itself. The part the pilot does is set the " brakes " ( reverse thrust the engines ). The biggest part of training is runway taxiing, where you are navigating around other aircraft under direct human control.

 

[highspeeds]

Last I knew the pilot has to input the heading, speed and altitude it to the auto pilot which is given to them from ground control. The big different is planes have a flight path and fly pretty much straight. The last time I flew I don't recall turning left and right like on an interstate and if any course correction was need it was input by the pilot.
You can't comparing auto/truck to trains or airplanes trains are on a fix set of tracks and planes flight path can be variety in course and altitude.

All that is sent directly to the onboard navigation from ground control.

But the truck to airplane comparison is a very bad one.

 

[eBiTDa]

They can't even keep the "on guard" systems functional. Hell, what happens when you drive thru a blizzard or a slushy road, the snow cakes on the sensor and "on guard" shuts off.