Driverless electric truck starts deliveries on Swedish public road
Esha Vaish
JONKOPING, Sweden (Reuters)
Resembling the helmet of a Star Wars stormtrooper, a driverless electric truck has a public road to deliver on public road in Sweden, on what developer Einride and logistics customer DB Schenker described as a world first.
Robert Falck, the CEO of Swedish start-up Einride, said the company was in partnership with major suppliers to help scale production and deliver orders, and the firm did not rule out future tie-ups with large truckmakers.
"This public road is a major milestone ... and it is a step to commercializing autonomous technology on roads," the Volvo trainer told Reuters.
.......
Einride's T-Pod is 26 when 60 percent versus a diesel truck with a driver.
Besides Schenker, Einride has orders from German grocer Lidl, Swedish delivery company Svenska Retursystem and five Fortune 500 retail companies, underpinning its ambition to have 200 vehicles in operation by the end of 2020.
.......
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-einr ... SKCN1SL0NC
T-Pod trucks have a capacity of 20 tons.
Autonomous and supervised remotely
Einride's T-Pods are "driven" by semi-autonomous driving software, but supervised by a human, remotely, like drones, in a control center grouping operators who each manage several trucks. Maneuvers around warehouses can be done by remote operators if the truck is confused by an obstacle or unexpected traffic. Einride says that in an integrated network operating optimally, each operator could take care of ten trucks, reducing the labor force.
https://auto.lapresse.ca/201905/16/01-5 ... -suede.php