Automation

The targeted and automated operation of a vehicle in real traffic, achieved by combining different systems that partially or fully take over steering, acceleration and braking, using on-board sensors and data to capture the vehicle’s environment.

The intercommunication between vehicles (car-to-car) and with the infrastructure, such as traffic lights or traffic guidance systems (car-to-infrastructure).

Increased road safety: Car-to-X communication warns drivers of hazards in good time; automated driving also means that a vehicle can brake or change lanes on its own. In addition to safety, automation can contribute to greater efficiency and resource conservation.

To classify the degree of automation, six levels from 0 to 5 have been defined on a national and international basis. The classification describes the system tasks as well as the driver requirements from merely assisted driving to fully autonomous driving without the need of a human driver to operate the vehicle.

Assisted and partially automated driving (levels 1 and 2) are in line with German road traffic regulations and international standards that require a driver to be able to control or drive the vehicle. This is not the case with highly automated driving (level 3), where drivers can turn their attention to things other than driving while on the road. However, legislative changes on a national and international basis in 2016 and 2017 significantly extended the scope for automated driving. Whether the new regulation only creates legal certainty for stage 3 or also for stage 4 (highly automated driving) is currently under discussion. However, one thing is certain: Autonomous driving (level 5) is not yet covered.

• Radar: Measures distances from objects and relative speeds using microwaves
• Mono or stereo cameras: Support the detection of obstacles and hazards
• Ultrasonic sensors: Measure distances from objects at close range
• Lidar: Measures distances from objects and relative speeds using ultraviolet or infrared radiation or visible light

Together with seven partners from industry, research and administration, MAN developed and tested the prototype of a safety vehicle in the aFAS research project ("automatic driverless safety vehicle for work sites on federal motorways"): a MAN TGM 18.340 with cameras, radars, various assistance systems, in some cases specially developed environmental sensors and integrated object and lane detection followed mobile construction sites on the hard shoulder of motorways in Hesse in a driverless and fully automated manner at a defined distance.

For three years, MAN Truck & Bus and Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) pushed ahead with the "Hamburg TruckPilot" research and testing project to develop automation solutions. Two prototype trucks equipped with corresponding electronic automation systems moved automatically within the Container Terminal Altenwerder at the Port of Hamburg (CTA) between the check-in gate and container block storage.

The EDDI ("Electronic Drawbar - Digital Innovation") project was a world premiere: for five months, professional drivers first drove dummy weights and then real goods on two MAN TGX articulated lorries at a maximum speed of 80 kilometres per hour between DB Schenker terminals in Munich and Nuremberg on a digital test route on the A9 motorway that was around 145 kilometres long. The rear vehicle followed the acceleration, braking and steering of the lead vehicle - synchronously, without active intervention by the driver and at a distance of around 15 metres. This is possible thanks to a special WLAN connection for car-to-car communication and multiple redundant sensors as well as various assistance systems. In certain situations, such as at motorway junctions, the platoon was broken up.

In the ENSEMBLE (ENabling SafE Multi-Brand pLatooning for Europe) project, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) technology ensures that different vehicles can communicate with each other and thus drive in a platoon, for example. Previously, this only worked between vehicles of one brand. As part of the EU-funded Ensemble project, seven European truck manufacturers have developed a cross-brand V2V communication protocol together with various suppliers and partners. The first platoon of vehicles from different brands drove around Barcelona in September 2021. In the medium term, an EU standard is to be developed on this basis.