Marko Hanželic
Last year was for autonomous vehicles as soon as possible. Despite the early optimism, the year 2023 Cruise's sudden and dramatic downfall unfortunately ended badly for the industry. But that won't stop autonomous vehicle startups from taking a step forward in 2024.
Companies Aurora Innovations, Kodiak Robotics in Gatik AI expect to begin testing autonomous trucks without human safety operators on board next year. This means they will be completely dependent on their sensors and software.
"At the end of the year, we expect to get to the point where we will start operating these trucks without drivers on board," is for Bloomberg said Chris Urmson, co-founder and CEO of the company Aurora Innovations. All three companies claim that, despite the high stakes, they are ready to introduce their technology this year.
Some critics are concerned about this. Adversaries such as organizations Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety in International Brotherhood of Teamsters, citing a lack of regulation, a lack of transparency and the enormous damage semi-trailer trucks can cause if something goes wrong, as reasons for caution.
Still, these startups say it's a development autonomous software for trucks that drive on permanent routes and mostly on highways, actually easier than for robot taxis like Cruise's vehicles, which have to deal with cross traffic, pedestrians, cyclists and other participants.
Companies also draw attention to the safety performance of human operators. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration) in 2021, 5.700 trucks were involved in fatal traffic accidents. Driverless trucks have yet to be blamed for any accidents. However, two-thirds of truck accidents occur when a person, animal, vehicle or other object drives into the truck's lane, so autonomous technology may it will not completely eliminate accidents with a fatal outcome, even if she manages to correct the driver's mistakes.
For the companies that will eventually buy these autonomous vehicles, the main benefit will likely be the financial side, but not greater security. In addition to not having to pay for a human driver, autonomous trucks have no limits on the length of the journey, which accelerates delivery speed.
