What Is an Autonomous Truck?
Self-driving cars are making the news with increasing regularity. Currently, no car on the market is fully autonomous, but in the near future, we may see truly driverless vehicles. Autonomous cars are an exciting prospect for consumers, but trucking companies are also eyeing self-driving technology. Although it will likely be quite some time before you see a driverless tractor-trailer next to you on the highway, a handful of companies are currently developing and testing autonomous trucking technology. What Are Autonomous Trucks, and How Do They Work? Autonomous trucks, also called self-driving trucks, are commercial trucks that can operate without human intervention. These vehicles rely on a collection of cutting-edge software and hardware: Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) Without a human behind the wheel, an autonomous truck needs another way to “see” its environment. That’s where lidar comes in. Lidar is a technology that uses pulsing lasers to detect distances. A lidar system typically has three main components: By creating a