Daimler Shows Future Truck, Calls Design a ‘Work of Art’

This story appears in the Sept. 29 print edition of Transport Topics.

HANOVER, Germany — Daimler Trucks peeled away the camouflage from the Future Truck 2025 it debuted this summer, revealing what its global chief called not just a vehicle, but “a great work of art.”

In July, the company showed off the technology only of the autonomous-driving truck from Mercedes-Benz.

PHOTO GALLERY: Future Truck 2025 unveiled

Last week, the world observed the vehicle’s twists on traditional features such as replacing rearview mirrors with a video-camera system and placing the headlights beneath the hood so they shine through the paint.

“I have driven more than one car onto the stage, but this night was a very special night for me because it was the first time I was driven on stage,” said Wolfgang Bernhard, president of Daimler’s global truck unit and former head of the Mercedes-Benz passenger cars unit.

The Sept. 22 event, in an airline hangar at the Hanover airport, took place before the start of the IAA Commercial Vehicles show here that runs Sept. 25-Oct. 2 and includes more than 2,000 exhibitors from around the world.

“That is what our truck has in common with all those airplanes out there at the airport,” he said. “Both things can run on autopilot.”

At the hangar, Bernhard was shown on video screens traveling in the Future Truck. After about one minute in the autonomous-driving mode, he took control of the vehicle during the final stretch and maneuvered it inside the hangar.

In a Sept. 23 interview, Gordon Wagener, head of design for all of Mercedes-Benz, told Transport Topics “the feedback thus far has been phenomenal” as he viewed the truck on the IAA show floor. “People have been astonished how we have redefined the world of trucks.”

Daimler’s exhibit space included more than 60 vehicles, with the Future Truck attracting a steady flow of curious spectators.

At the premiere in July outside of Berlin, the focus was on the communication systems, sensors and cameras that allowed the truck to use “Highway Pilot” to safely guide it around other vehicles and hazards at highway speeds. The trucker remained in the driver seat at all times but was able to shift his seat 45 degrees from the steering wheel, allowing him to do other work or just relax. But during that event, the design of the truck cab remained under wraps.

At the Sept. 22 event, however, external and internal design features were revealed:

Besides the change in the headlights, they are programmed to shine white when in manual-driving mode and pulsate blue when in autonomous mode.

In addition, LED lights replace traditional turn signals.

“We think it is cool,” Bernhard said in summing up the front end of the Future Truck.

The camera system that replaces side mirrors improves safety and increases night visibility with wide-angle video images that are displayed inside the cab, Bernhard said.

He added removing the mirrors has been proved to improve fuel efficiency.

Also along the side of the vehicle, radar sensors installed near the rear axle offer blind-spot assist technology.

As for the “visionary” trailer, Bernhard said there is 18% less aero resistance, which is due in large part to special rear-end flaps.

He acknowledged the flaps are not yet legal in some countries but said he expects that to change in the coming years.

Inside the Future Truck, the sleeper berth has been raised and the middle console has been removed.

A lounge chair replaces the passenger seat, and the dashboard has been condensed to a simpler instrument panel and a tablet.

Wagener declined to speak in detail on the design process, citing competitive reasons, but said it was a multi-year process.

However, he said it was critical to design this truck to be “not as scary” as some motorists mistakenly believe trucks often can be.

“This design embodies the technologies inside,” he said. “You look at this truck and you trust it.

In a briefing with North American trucking journalists Sept. 24, Bernhard said the Future Truck is helping fuel a dialogue about the governmental regulations and public acceptance that need to take place to make autonomous trucks a reality in the next decade.

He said discussions with agencies in the United States and elsewhere regarding the communication systems, certification processes and other factors have taken place — and will continue.

Bernhard also cautioned the Future Truck on display was just a concept vehicle, with about 50% of components already available on Mercedes passenger cars and commercial vehicles.

Besides winning over regulators and gaining public acceptance, Bernhard discussed the importance of convincing fleets the vehicles are worth purchasing.

“It will be adopted if it pays for the customer — a business case needs to be made,” he said. “We are not going to sell one single truck if it does not pay off for customers.”