Driverless Truck Actually Driving in Nevada

Self driving trucks.
Self driving trucks.

 

We have written about this before.  But back then it was just a concept, not actually operating on US roads.  Well Nevada just green lighted the first driverless truck.

The world’s first autonomous 18-wheeler is getting down to business. At a ceremony at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Tuesday, Gov. Brian Sandoval handed over an official Nevada license plate for use by a new Freightliner Inspiration Truck on public roads.

Though a human “driver” will need to sit behind the wheel in case of an emergency, the new system is intended to usher in an era that could very well lead to fleets of trucks that have no humans on board at all, said Wolfgang Bernhard, the board member overseeing truck operations at Freightliner’s parent, Daimler AG.

Even in its current, more limited form, the technology offers a number of advantages, Bernhard said, noting that 90 percent of truck crashes involve human error, according to government data, much of that due to fatigue.

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/autos/worlds-first-autonomous-truck-goes-operation-n354511

 It doesn’t look like robot competition will over take human drivers just yet, the truck needs a driver still, and can’t go where there aren’t white lines…. but we expect this technology to move very quickly.