Driverless trucks are becoming a reality

To achieve this, the project partners had to overcome many technical challenges. For example, safety-relevant components such as a redundant braking system, on-board power supply and steering had to be developed – all of which are essential for a Level 4 architecture in trucks. In addition, a validation concept had to be developed and, at the same time, the control centre for technical supervision was put into operation. Risk analyses and safety assessments for Level 4 driving were carried out, including cyber security. And time and again, the autonomous truck had to prove during test drives that it could navigate the motorway with confidence. Naturally, this was always done with a safety driver on board.

‘Together with our partners, we set ourselves a lofty goal and have realised an industrialisable basic concept for autonomous driving in hub-to-hub applications,’ summarises Dr Frederik Zohm, Chief Technology Officer at MAN Truck & Bus. ‘The development and integration of the redundant components required for safe operation, such as steering, brakes and the on-board electrical system, as well as the creation of a validation concept, required interdisciplinary expertise and close teamwork. As a consortium, we have proven with this project that autonomous trucks are feasible!’

Basis for the series development of autonomous trucks

ATLAS-L4 has laid the foundation for this: the result is a prototype technology that can serve as a blueprint for further projects and series developments – even if various details still need to be clarified for an autonomous truck in series production, as the project has shown. ‘We have done valuable pioneering work by providing practical proof of the technical feasibility of autonomous trucks,’ says project coordinator Sebastian Völl from MAN Truck & Bus. ‘These concepts are now being incorporated into further development work for the series production of autonomous trucks.’

The demand for driverless trucks is likely to rise sharply in the coming years – especially for shuttle services between logistics centres, where they can make an important contribution to greater efficiency and to avoiding traffic jams and accidents. Autonomous trucks can also alleviate the driver shortage, one of the major problems facing the transport industry. In Germany alone, there is already a shortage of around 100,000 truck drivers, and this figure is set to rise.

The ATLAS-L4 project therefore came at just the right time – and it has shown how such an ambitious goal can be achieved by combining the right partners. Zohm: ‘Innovations such as autonomous driving require such cooperation in order to effectively advance future technology in Germany and Europe.’