Plus Ramps Up Autonomous Truck Testing in Texas, Sweden
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Automated driving technology company Plus has been ramping up on-road testing of autonomous heavy-duty trucks in the United States and Europe in cooperation with Traton Group’s commercial truck brands.
During an Oct. 30 live webcast, the technology developer said it has been operating test trucks outfitted with its SuperDrive autonomous driving system on public roadways in both Texas and Sweden and is preparing to begin fleet pilots next year to build toward a targeted commercial launch in 2027.
“As this transformation unfolds, autonomous trucks will soon become a common sight on our roads, delivering goods more efficiently and safely,” Plus CEO and co-founder David Liu said.
Today, Plus’ self-driving trucks continue to have a safety driver behind the wheel, but the company’s goal is to enable unmanned driverless trucks to travel between designated hubs on specific highway routes in the coming years.
During the next two years, Plus will focus on validating its technology, developing autonomous-ready vehicle platforms with truck manufacturers, completing the safety case for its technology and then begin conducting driver-out testing in 2025 or 2026, Liu said.
During the briefing, Plus showed video of a SuperDrive-equipped International brand tractor traversing a 170-mile route in Texas from San Antonio to Laredo. A safety driver monitored the system, but the virtual driver software handled the entire drive without requiring intervention at any time, Liu said.
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During the trip, the system autonomously navigated a wide range of situations, including local traffic with unprotected turns, rush hour congestion, road construction and even a unique Texas U-turn, before arriving at a distribution center.
“This is an example of what our autonomous system can do,” Liu said. “It navigates these complex yet routine scenarios on a daily basis.”
Plus is testing its SuperDrive autonomous driving system on International brand Class 8 trucks in Texas. (Plus)
Plus and International plan to roll out their hub-to-hub freight operations starting in Texas and then expand to other states and eventually cover the United States.
While Plus first announced its partnership with International and other Traton brands in March, Liu said the companies have been working together for years.
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The collaboration has involved development work across multiple locations, from Plus headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif., to teams in Germany and Sweden.
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In addition to its work with the International, Scania and MAN brands of Traton Group, Plus also has formed partnerships with truck manufacturers Hyundai and Iveco.
At the 2024 Advanced Clean Transportation Expo in May, Plus showcased its SuperDrive system integrated with Hyundai’s Class 8 Xcient hydrogen fuel cell truck.
While simultaneously testing on two continents, Plus is training its software to drive in different weather conditions, from extreme heat in Texas to snow in Sweden while complying with different traffic laws and conditions and accounting for the design differences of American and European trucks.
Plus’s approach to autonomous driving software development, dubbed “AV 2.0,” relies heavily on artificial intelligence, said Tim Daly, the company’s chief architect.
Liu and Daly
Plus AV 2.0 replaces 95% of the software code with AI models designed to make the system less complex and easier to improve. Instead of explicitly programming every aspect of the software, developers are instead producing examples of what they want the system to do and then allowing AI to learn from those examples.
“That’s what the generative AI and neural network innovations of the present age are allowing us to do,” Daly said.
Plus’ AI consists of a perception model that processes all the sensor data and produces a local map with all other road users and velocities, which then passes that information to a motion forecasting model that predicts what each vehicle is planning to do and generates trajectories.
McLeod Software CEO Tom McLeod explores the potential for artificial intelligence to boost efficiency and build resilience. Tune in above or by going to RoadSigns.ttnews.com.
Liu described autonomous driving as “one of the most complex engineering problems of our times,” but he said its potential impact could be transformative.
Driverless trucks can increase freight capacity, reduce delivery times, boost economic growth and make it possible for more professional drivers to shift to local and regional routes that allow them to return home every night, Liu said.
In addition to its SuperDrive autonomous driving technology, Plus also has developed a highly automated driver-assist system known as PlusDrive, safety technology called PlusProtect and perception software PlusVision.
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