Watch as Daimler's Autonomous Truck Debuts on German Roads
Daimler AG’s autonomous truck made its debut on public roads in Germany on Oct. 2. Watch a rebroadcast of the debut below.
The truck, a Mercedes-Benz Actros, uses Daimler’s Highway Pilot system to drive autonomously on the highway.
“[Highway Pilot] maintains the correct distance to the vehicle in front and brakes in good time if another vehicle cuts out onto the road in front of it. The Highway Pilot does not replace the driver but supports and relieves the strain on them by dealing with monotonous stretches for them and taking care of annoying stop-and-go driving in a traffic jam," Daimler said in a statement. "In automated mode, the driver has control over the truck at all times and in tricky situations can take over driving of the vehicle again."
The maiden voyage took place in Daimler’s home state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany’s third-largest state. Along for the ride, which departed from a rest stop on the autobahn, was Winfried Kretschmann, governor of Baden-Württemberg, and Wolfgang Bernhard, head of the company’s global bus and truck unit.
Done! Mercedes-Benz Actros with Highway Pilot System on its first autonomous drive on a German "Autobahn" pic.twitter.com/H07dHDpqco
— Daimler AG (@Daimler) October 2, 2015
Bernhard said in July that production of Future Truck 2025 was still two to three years away.
In the United States, Freightliner’s Inspiration Truck has been licensed in Nevada and has been road-tested, but officials say it should be considered a concept truck and not a prototype ready for the market.
