Should You Trust a Driverless Truck?
Seasoned truckers are all-too-familiar with the aches and pains of being on the road for too long.
Whether it’s a bad case of eye strain as you keep your eyes on the road for hours, or feeling restless and cramped from sitting too long, it’s nice to imagine what it would be like if you could actually sit back and enjoy being a passenger for once.
While we don’t encourage you to try closing your eyes while you’re maneuvering a heavy-duty truck, you just might be able to catch the break you’ve been looking for. Autonomous Driving, or self-driving vehicles are on the rise across Canada, with BMW launching a prototype of an autonomous BMW 5-Series just a few weeks ago at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Imagine being able to send an important text, or stretch your arms behind your head, and even trust your truck to make all the right moves, even before you can respond?
The future of trucking could be shaping up to become something entirely different! Here’s what you should know about autonomous trucks:
What Is Autonomous Driving?
One infamous legend about autonomous vehicles is that the driver doesn’t have to do anything, but this is false. Autonomous vehicles are vehicles which are capable of sensing their environments and adjusting certain driving factors, like speed and direction, without any human input. However, humans should always remember that technology isn’t always one hundred percent accurate and you should never fully surrender yourself or your passengers to a robot. This holds especially true with large trucks carrying heavy loads.
Autonomous vehicles rely on radar, lasers, computers and GPS technology in order to perform. Using these combined features, they can detect appropriate navigation paths, map out routes, detect obstacles and analyze sensory data to detect the best possible outcome for the driver. Most of the newer autonomous prototypes can even start and park themselves, offer directions and relay information about local commercial environments, like restaurants, buildings or land areas.
How Will Hino Change?
As a leader in the commercial trucking industry, Hino is always looking for ways to adapt to the changing consumer market. That’s why, in partnership with Isuzu Motors, Hino Motors is planning to build a system that will support fleets of self-driving trucks.
As it stands, the commercial trucking industry is facing a labour shortage--largely due to the long hours that are required to do the job. Even the best truckers get tired after long journeys across the country with many nights spent on the road. The autonomous driving technology hopes to solve this problem along with other factors. The proposed system will incorporate data-sharing communication among all trucks in the caravan. The lead vehicle will supply information from the accelerator which in turn will guide the rear vehicles. A human driver will lead the main truck, but the vehicles that follow will be synced by the autonomous technology.
But don’t start planning those afternoon naps in your cab just yet. The application process isn’t expected until at least 2021. Plenty of testing and real-time runs must be done before our trucks can have a mind of their own.
Would you ever trust your truck to do everything for you? Let us know in the comments below! Still love the manual driving experience? Somerville Hino has plenty of new Hino trucks for sale, as well as an impressive used Hino inventory that will take care of all your trucking needs. Call us today at 1-(877) 650-6296 or contact us online for further assistance.
