Daimler Truck, a subsidiary of Mercedes-Benz, aims to have the first electric, fully autonomous trucks on the roads by 2027, changing the transport landscape.
Daimler will equip the electric version of the eCascadia model with a suite of high-power, long-range sensors that allow it to "see" its surroundings, as well as a computer that can process sensor data and make navigation decisions.
Daimler considers its goal to launch the trucks in 2027 somewhere in the US Southwest, transporting goods from specific origins to specific terminals.
We're starting with "an autonomous vehicle that doesn't sleep, doesn't need to stop, and basically can continuously move from one point to another," said Joanna Butler, head of Daimler's technology group.
Autonomous vehicles are not yet considered fully autonomous as they require the driver to have their hands on the wheel and we are not talking about no driver at all. In fact, after several accidents, their sales have been on a downward trend, partly thanks to missteps by companies such as Tesla and Cruise.
Daimler has been working on its own self-driving car since 2015, when it unveiled a working prototype called the Freightliner Inspiration Truck. The automaker followed suit then, debuting the autonomous truck at the Hoover Dam and offering test rides at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
At the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show, Daimler unveiled a production version of this concept truck.
And it made other moves, including that year acquiring Torc, a Virginia-based company that makes software for self-driving vehicles.