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A Fleet of Trucks Just Drove Themselves Across Europe (qz.com)
An anonymous reader shares a report on Quartz: About a dozen trucks from major manufacturers like Volvo and Daimler just completed a week of largely autonomous driving across Europe, the first such major exercise on the continent. The trucks set off from their bases in three European countries and completed their journeys in Rotterdam in the Netherlands. One set of trucks, made by the Volkswagen subsidiary Scania, traveled more than 2,000 km and crossed four borders to get there. The trucks were taking part in the European Truck Platooning Challenge, organized by the Dutch government as one of the big events for its 2016 presidency of the European Union. While self-driving cars from Google or Ford get most of the credit for capturing the public imagination, commercial uses for autonomous or nearly autonomous vehicles, like tractors from John Deere, have been quietly putting the concept to work in a business setting.In related news, as tipped to us by a reader, "Swedish automaker Volvo is planning on bringing a fleet of 100 self-driving vehicles to China from next year, in a project which will see local drivers test autonomous cars on public roads in everyday driving conditions. Dangerous driving and congestion in Chinese cities will likely prove a difficult challenge for the fleet." I am particularly interested in learning how this autonomous truck is controlled. From the article, it appears that these vehicles utilize Wi-Fi. Based on so many security incidents we continue to come across, perhaps these companies should first work on solving the technical challenges to make these trucks safe -- that is, bolstering the hardware and software security.
Being more secure than humans is enough. And that can be easily measured, in the number of accidents that the cars caused.
Traffic accounts for far more deaths than plane travel, still the media attention after plane accidents is much higher. Its good that now the roads are made safer as well.
until cars have a midlife crisis and drive across the country randomly to "find themselves"?
Anything under a 6 digit income in the US and this is a very real consideration.
~ People that think they are better than anyone else for any reason are the cause of all the strife in the world.
In the US, trucking is already heavily subsidized. The government spends far more money on roads than it takes in supposed use (fuel) taxes, and trucks are far more efficient per pound than cars meaning the major beneficiary are trucks. Add to that higher speeds than many trains (and more flexible schedules), and the ability to run all night, and you have a recipe for disaster: huge amounts of freight currently carried by train will end up on the roads, bankrupting the railroad industry AND the causing massive chaos on the roads and expenditures on roads going through the roof.
The question, I guess, is whether Congress (and the States) is willing to address fuel tax reform before this can happen? (And at the same time, are States willing to address the silliness of property taxes on railroads given the existence of a private railroad network saves them money.)
You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
"Volvo is planning on bringing a fleet of 100 self-driving vehicles to China from next year,"
Forget self-driving vehicles. Tell us more about this time travel technology!
I'm very surprised there hasn't been a movie yet (that I'm aware of) featuring an autonomous vehicle being hijacked remotely to do some dastardly deed.
Other than China, they also might want to try driving the vehicles through Cairo. I remember taking a taxi once from the area of the zoo to a hotel near Giza once and the number of near accidents, crazy driving, etc. in that 20 minute trip was greater than everything I've seen in every other country I've ever visited put together over the span of my entire lifetime (40+ years).
They just sent a bunch of gamers an early beta of "EuroTruck Simulator 3" which was actually just a thinly veiled tele-operation console for these trucks.
Ah, breaker one-nine, this here's the Rubber Duck v1.0. You gotta copy on me, Pig Pen v1.1, c'mon?
Ah, yeah, 10-4, Pig Pen v1.1, fer shure, fer shure. By golly, it's clean clear to Flag Town, c'mon.
Yeah, that's a big 10-4 there, Pig Pen v1.1, yeah, we definitely got the front door, good buddy. Mercy sakes alive, looks like we got us an autonomous convoy!
Going from "largely autonomous" to "fully autonomous" is probably tougher than going from nothing to "largely autonomous."
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
A map I saw last year (actually a slide show through a few decades) showed the current most common occupation in ~45 US states: Truck Driver.
Depressing enough to think that's what's left of the US nowadays, but what the hell happens in the next 5 to 10 years as even those jobs are eliminated (all the while told by the Puritan ruling class we're bums if not employed)?
Driverless trucks will be great for China. They've been dying for something to fix their labor shortage.
Did they have any "refugees" hiding in the back?
Do you have ESP?
I'm waiting for my autonomous RV. Now is the time to invest in RV parks and KOA. Who needs a house when I can live in a new city every month.
The technique demonstrated here is platooning, where trucks can autonomously follow the truck in front of them. The truck at the front of the line is still driven manually.
An interesting development, but not quite autonomous driving.
The question that remains is how they'd prevent the convoy being broken up at traffic lights.
"just to clarify: those self-driving truck were just following the truck in front of them at rather close distance, about 10m. The first truck in those so-called platoons was manually driven, the second, and possibly third and fourth follower however was following on autopilot"
That's what it sounded like to me, but it sounded like they were slipstreaming closer than 10 meters. Frankly, it sounds quite hazardous and somewhat pointless unless you take the drivers out of the trailing vehicles. In which case the driver in the front truck can occupy his or her spare time while cruising down the expressway wondering about what could possibly go wrong.
You can't see ANYTHING from a car, You've got to get out of the goddamned contraption and walk...Edward Abbey
Is this really AI? I worked on self driving cars and trucks (backing up a three trailer truck) and used control theory and a lot of math, but no AI.
I saw this from my window at work today. Actually I spent more time staring at the helicopter than the trucks but I digress.
The irony does not go unnoticed that in the video that they park these "eco twin" trucks promoting fuel efficiency and environmental savings right in front of the brand spanking new coal fired power station commissioned only this year at the Maasvlakte.
I can't help but wonder if todays event was the reason that the station wasn't running and belching its usual big cloud.
I commend you but I warn that if the Government doesn't or didn't tax it chances are what you have will be declared illegal, robbed from you and sold to the highest bidder for a new development.
~ People that think they are better than anyone else for any reason are the cause of all the strife in the world.
if the truck still belches out toxic nano particles in it's exhaust and uses compression release engine brakes at 4 am that are so loud you can hear them from over 2 kilometres away. i.e. So what, this does not fix the existing problems with trucks and just causes one more problem, unemployment.
So you can have a truck that will drive itself to the moon and back, but how do you address certain situations such as inclement weather and mechanical safety? Someone needs to be there to install the chains when the roads get slick. Someone needs to inspect the brakes before heading down a steep incline. Perhaps the load has shifted, and needs straps tightened? Blown tire needs changing? Brake caliper stuck closed? A truck driver isn't just a meatbag that steers the truck and hits the gas and brakes. Even if you completely automate the trucks and eliminate the driver, you're still going to need a human being as a tender to keep those machines moving safely and running well. Out here in the western half of the US, there's some looooong stretches of open road, and an autonomous truck stranded out there hours from help is not good for the bottom line.
Why not just join them together with rods?
OST nah, cobber. Only a total bloomin' drongo could come up with an idea like that.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Kinda like this
If you keep the whip in the middle of their backs, they generally drive pretty straight until they're just too tired. Then they fall over. Same as other forms of cattle. Just ask Fox News.
No, no need to thank me, delighted to enlighten you.
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
Automated refueling tech
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
In the "you get to unload this yourself" category, there's nothing technological to stop it
How would that work exactly? It wouldn't work for home delivery. It wouldn't work for commerical delivery where the same truck goes to multiple customers, or any sort of route sales for that matter. I guess it could work for a company moving stuff between 2 of its own warehouses?
etter start voting for people who know what a social safety net is and are willing to fight for same
Just learn to do work that is of value to society.
being a Republican or large-L libertarian won't get you lynched. Yet.
The (anti-gun) left sure does think a lot of itself. If society divides into one group that does work of value to society, and one group that doesn't, which group do you imagine will have the power?
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
Rough breakdown is $6k solar (2.5kw), $2k slab foundation, $12k house material (wood/roofing), $5k septic. I found a lot of material like windows and doors on craigslist and also talking to people at building construction sites where I picked up their garbage/leftovers. It has taken me over 7 years from my first nights in a tent, but I quickly found a free trashed rv after that. Solar is only half price now from what I originally paid in 2008, but compared @$0.5kwh fuel for the generator, it has paid for itself.
I share a well with a neighbor but have quotes for ~$12k to drill a new hole @330' (same depth as theirs). I seriously doubt anyone would be interested in developing the area. There are a few big mansions being built around me, mostly by people from California, but most don't stay for long and move out after a couple of years. It's very boring out here unless you are self entertaining. Most people aren't.
If you don't feel like doing work yourself, you can always find old abandoned houses around ghost towns with acreage. I haven't looked into that much, but did look at a few complete turnkey farms in small towns in OH and MI a few years ago in the $80k range.
You know when that is useful, exactly when that is useful, when 7 billion people can do it. Earth is 51.01 billion hectares, of which 3.107 billion hectares is arable so as we would need 112 billion hectares, we do you suggest we find the other 36 earths so we can all live like you, or do you suggest we simple eliminate sufficient people to end up with 1 36th of the number of people we have now. If you seriously think when the rest of the earth's ability to sustain the current population diminishes, you'll be safe, you have quite a few screws loose. The only way to be relatively safe as a human is to be part of a sound, properly functioning society, everything else exposes to far higher risk, whether it be random infection, insect bite or even a random fall, all of them can see you dead, quite quickly without the assistance of the rest of society.
Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
It is fully permitted.
The only place I see this flying is in Alaska. Otherwise local citizenry or local government would be raiding your home and burning it down. What state did you pull this miracle off in?
~ People that think they are better than anyone else for any reason are the cause of all the strife in the world.
what I'd actually be interested in buying is an autonomous lawn mower. Ball's in your court John Deere.
.... And put them on their own track so they are out of the way of cars and can't run people over?
Nah mate, if you put rails in the outback some crimmo will steal 'em.
http://outbacktowing.tripod.co...
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Just learn to do work that is of value to society.
And if machines already do 90% of the work that is of value to society, what then?
Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
Same thing we've done for the past 500 years of technological advancement. People want more. It is fundamental human nature that our reach exceeds our grasp, and that won't change. There's plenty that people want now (and robots won't do anytime son), but most can't afford so the market is small. As the prices of everything robots can do falls, those markets will expand. Same as has happened for the past 500 years of automation.
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
Huh? My friend just finished building a house in "overregulated" California, in a crowded suburb of the bay area. He did full permits on everything, and some items such as the foundation were done by professional crews. The vast majority of the work was done by amateurs using scrounged materials. It's a small house but it cost around $50k to make in an area where you can't find a shitty condo for $300k.
I think you can pull this off most anywhere. Some cities are more uptight than others, but as long as you meet code and pull permits and don't be a dick to the inspectors you will have smooth sailing.
Man, you really need that seminar!
Ah, you are one of those that have the dream that capitalism will always have room for everyone. Don't wake up, because the fact of the matter is if capitalism doesn't need anything, then people starve.
Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
So you imagine a world of automated factories building warehouses full of production that no one can buy? Frankly, I can't even understand the distopian future the Luddites fear, here. About 10% of jobs in the US are still manufacturing-related. That will certainly drop to below 5%, just like agriculture jobs. The drop has been going on for 50+ years, and the world hasn't ended. Some unskilled service jobs will follow in the new wave of automation. Where's the mushroom cloud again?
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
They'll find someone else in the world to buy it, just as they have found someone else in the world to make it. I hear india and China are new emerging markets. Surely you don't think it is just manufacturing jobs going away.
Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
That's pretty crazy even by /. conspiracy theory standards.
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
This is an article about autonomous truck driving; do you know how many truck and taxi drivers there are, and what a ripple that will cause in the economy on its own? There are 250,000 taxi drivers and 3.5 million truck drivers. That is a lot of people out of work in a short span of time. A taxi driver can't just decide to compete with those millions of other people and open a lawn care company when the jobs dry out. Now add to that all the other jobs to be replaced by AI. It's dark times ahead. I can't see autonomous truck driving being practical in the short term but when it does become practical it's going to suck.
Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
Truck drives jobs will be secure for many years to come. Trucks are expensive - if the AI were ready today it would take 10-20 years. The lawn care business is pretty saturated, but there aren't enough plumbers or electricians or welders or handimen. And it's not like construction-related truck driving is going away in my lifetime.
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
From the post you were replying to:
That response is so clueless I won't dignify it with a direct comment.
WTF are you taking about now? I am pro-constitution, and the constitution says "right to keep and carry", and as far as I'm concerned, barring use of, and success in employing, article 5, arms, kept and carried, are 100% legitimate. I own firearms (and several other types of arms) and consider anti-gun sentiment, quite aside from constitutional issues, to be completely misdirected. People commit crimes because they want to. If they use an object, it's not the object's fault. If they can't get one object to accomplish their goals, they will use another. And yes, absolutely, criminals will have weapons, and law-abiding citizens would not, in an environment where calling for law enforcement might (and I do mean might) get you a response in minutes, in a situation where every second counts, you could die, your family could die, etc. Anti-gun people are being both stupid and shortsighted. NONE of which changes the fact that they are extremely numerous and would just as soon see you completely defenseless and anyone who disagrees with them muzzled, pun intended.
Also, none of which changes the fact that the Republicans have absolutely nothing of value to offer in terms of a candidate at this point in time, or that the Republican party has fractured into a drooling bunch of Trumpettes, a collection of theocrat-worshiping fools, and a remainder of more-or-less run of the mill party plankers (most of whom are absolutely appalled at the very presence of Trump and Cruz in the primaries.) Libertarians (both cases) are such a minority that even without being actually reviled, they are basically irrelevant. I would know: a lot of my views lean strongly (small-L) libertarian. None of which makes me think that other individuals aren't just as worthy of being kept healthy and sheltered as I am, no matter if they agree with me or not, BTW.
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
That's been true in the past. Should it remain true in a society where work is simply not available for many?
Of course not.
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
The AI is there, or so close to it as to make no difference at all. Done deal. The rest is a matter of normal truck cabs wearing out and being replaced (that actually happens pretty fast in most cases, trucks do heavy service and they don't last all that long) and/or financial decisions based on available capital, and the ROI of replacing fallible, expensive humans with much less fallible automation and (for a little while, anyway) a much less expensive grunt laborer.
The median annual wage for a trucker that works for a private fleet, such as a truck driver employed by Walmart, is $73,000, according to ATA. The Labor Department pegs the median annual salary for all truck drivers at around $40,000. Of course, the cost is higher than the salary: social security, insurance, etc. Ten years of that is about half a million dollars. A new tractor (the part of the truck we're talking about): $110,000 to $125,000. The laborers, if even required in the use case, will only be temporary and will cost much less anyway.
It's pretty obvious what's going to happen here. Companies will automate as fast as they can; the financial case is hugely in favor of it.
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
Because you have functional critical thinking facilities.
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
I know that trucks are expensive.. I know someone who had a mortgage on one. But efficiency matters as well, and AI is automatically 1/3 more efficient then a human driver. This will be enough for new providers of AI trucks to emerge if the current shipping companies don't convert. Traditional human shipping companies will be undercut, there is no way around it. The only thing keeping them from starting now is that AI is not perfect yet. Put one on the road and you're liable for a whole bunch of lawsuits because your truck drove into a bus. The that 'there are not enough' tradesmen is a healthy situation. This keeps the wages at a healthy rate for tradesmen. Enter millions more into the trades, and the wages are not so healthy any more. Instead, the tradesmen need to spend their own time to keep working and they can only wish for a healthy wage. We had our house reno'd not long ago and we had a hard time finding a plumber, but we found one. Speaking from an economical perspective, it would be bad for everyone if I could find one right away. For one thing, the tradesman would not longer be paid what they are truly worth. For another thing, I would be very likely to get someone who was rushed in and did not have the same skills or ability or experience. I know there is a journeyman program. But if you are expecting a 55 year old truck driver to spend time learning plumbing, then getting his journeyman ticket, while still supporting a family then you have another thing coming. That just won't work.
Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
Also, one more thought. From what I hear, it is very difficult for someone coming out of plumbing school to find someone who will support them in getting their journeyman ticket as it is. Enter millions of more people in the industry, and good luck. Now they have spent money on their education and owe, and they are stuck before they start.
Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.