Daimler Freightliner keeps on truckin with driverless evolution
This article by Robert Wright may be of interest to subscribers. Here is a section:
But when the vast truck is on the public road, a message on the dashboard tells Mr Urban that a program called “Highway Pilot” is ready to take over. After pushing a button on the steering wheel, the truck steers, accelerates and brakes without the intervention of Mr Urban, an engineer at Freightliner’s headquarters.
Germany’s Daimler, Freightliner’s parent, has hailed the Inspiration — which was granted permission on Tuesday to operate on Nevada’s roads — as the first autonomous truck licensed to operate on public streets.
But while the state’s decision is significant, the step looks more evolutionary than revolutionary. Daimler portrays the Inspiration as the next step from vehicles that warn drivers when they are leaving their lane and control braking if too close to the vehicle in front.
Increasingly stringent regulations on the amount of time a driver can remain behind the wheel before taking a break and the constant drive to improve fuel efficiency represent powerful cross currents in the haulage sector. While the roll out of autonomous personal vehicles might be exciting, the use of this technology in the commercial sector is even more revolutionary.
Mining companies and large farmers were the first to use autonomous vehicles. However it is a major leap to move from an uninhabited area to the highway where people’s lives are at stake. None of the proposed technological innovations would be possible without the combination of advances witnessed in the global positioning, computing, big data, robotics, sensory and wi-fi sectors.
Google has been at the sharp edge of developing fully autonomous vehicles. While the investment has yet to be reflected on the company’s balance sheet there is potential for it to do so at some point in future.
Daimler’s moderated approach is probably more realisable in the short term. The share continues to consolidate its powerful advance from the October lows but a sustained move below the 200-day MA, currently near €80, would be required to question medium-term potential for additional upside.