Automation in the long-haulChallenges and opportunities of autonomous

heavy-duty trucking in the U.S.

Ben Sharpe, PhD

3 Revolutions Policy Conference

Univ. of California, Davis

February 26, 2018

Outline

1. Autonomous trucking: full speed ahead vs. pumping the

brakes

2. Levels of automation and commercial status in trucking

3. Automation: enabling technologies and applications

4. Industry survey: methods and results

5. Summary and future work

ICCT’s mission

To improve the environmental performance and energy efficiency of all modes of motorized transportation –passenger cars, heavy-duty trucks and buses, ocean-going ships, and commercial aviation – and the fuels they burn to address air pollution and climate change.

Autonomous trucking…

Perception is preconception

4

Fleets and industry Truck drivers

Society

• Safety benefits

• Acceptance of fully driverless trucks?

• Long-term: potential labor cost savings

• Operational cost savings

• Higher levels of

automation can ease

the burden of driving

• Long-term: potential

for massive

disruptions to labor

markets

Levels of automation and commercial status in trucking

5

LEVEL NAME DESCRIPTION EXAMPLESTECHNOLOGY

STATUS

0 No automationHuman performs all driving tasks, even if

enhanced by active safety systems.Navistar LT, Peterbilt 579

Commercially

available

1 Driver assistanceVehicle can perform sustained control of either

steering or acceleration/deceleration.

Peloton Platooning System,

Volvo VNL

Commercially

available

2 Partial automationVehicle can perform sustained control of both

steering and acceleration/deceleration.Embark, Starsky Robotics Pre-commercial

3Conditional

automation

All tasks can be controlled by the system in

some situations. Human intervention may be

required.

Freightliner Inspiration, Uber

ATG / OttoPrototype retrofit

4 High automation

All tasks can be handled by the system without

human intervention, but in limited

environments (e.g., dedicated lanes or zones).

Not currently availableResearch and

development

5 Full automationAutomated system can handle all roadway

conditions and environments.Not currently available

Research and

development

Enabling technologies, applications, and examples

6

TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS TECHNOLOGIES USEDCOMMERCIALLY

AVAILABLE?EXAMPLE COMPANIES

Lane departure warningSensors such as cameras, processing

softwareYes Mobileye, Meritor WABCO

Blind spot detectionSensors such as cameras and radar,

processing softwareYes Mobileye, Meritor WABCO, Volvo

Automatic brakingSensors such as cameras and radar,

processing softwareYes

Scania, DAF, Daimler, Meritor

WABCO, Volvo, Bendix

Automated manual

transmissions

Electronic control unit, hydraulics,

softwareYes Eaton, Volvo, Daimler

Eco-driving systemsOn-board diagnostics, monitoring and

processing software, telematicsYes TomTom, Ruptela, SmartDrive

Enabling technologies, applications, and examples (2 of 2)

7

TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS TECHNOLOGIES USEDCOMMERCIALLY

AVAILABLE?EXAMPLE COMPANIES

Automated lane keepingSensors such as cameras or radar,

processing softwareYes Scania, Meritor WABCO

Adaptive cruise control (ACC)Sensors such as radar, processing

softwareYes

Meritor WABCO, DAF, Volvo,

Bendix

Predictive cruise control (PCC)GPS, topographical mapping data,

processing softwareYes Kenworth, DAF

Platooning

Sensors such as radar, processing

software, could also include vehicle

communications using DSRC

Yes (Level 1), Level 2 systems

are pre-commercialPeloton, Volvo, Uber ATG, Daimler

Highly automated truckingWill likely include cameras, radar,

LiDAR, DSRC, processing software.No Daimler, Uber ATG

Telematics

GPS, DSRC or other wireless

communications technology, asset

management software

Yes Zonar, Geotab, Openmatics

8

Industry survey

STAKEHOLDER GROUP NUMBER OF INTERVIEWS

Telematics providers 3

Trucking industry research or consultants 5

Communications, radar or LiDAR suppliers2

Truck drivers and fleet representatives

5

(informal interviews during Run on

Less event on September 24, 2017)

9

Rank the motivations for developing or researching

autonomous trucking technology

1 - most

important

5 - least

important

Fuel

savingsSafety

Ease of

driving

Operations

efficiency

Reduced

labor costs

10

Rank the following sources in terms of information

regarding new technologies

1 - most

trusted

5 - least

trusted

Manufacturer

or supplier

marketing

Government3rd

party

testing

Trucking

assoc. or

other fleets

Fleet’s own

testing

11

Expectations for commercial availability of Level 3, 4, and

5 freight trucksLevel 3:

Conditional automation

Level 4:High automation

Level 5:Full automation

5 years 10 15 20

12

Enabling technologies and autonomous trucking applications are

quickly emerging

Perceived benefits and drawbacks of autonomous trucking vary by

stakeholder group (i.e., fleets vs. truck drivers vs. general public)

Industry survey of different stakeholders revealed this ‘perception is

preconception’ phenomenon

Future work: how can policy at the federal, state, and local level

guide the development and deployment of autonomous trucking?

Summary and future work