More and more companies are beginning to bet on autonomous vehicles.
Regarding the advantages that this technology presents, Stephane de Creisquer, CEO of Man Truck & Bus Iberia, reveals that “there is a 40 per cent more efficiency with autonomous trucks”.
It is worth noting that a year ago, the company, in collaboration with Deutsche Bahn, the Fresenius University of Applied Sciences, and Götting KG, began its Autonomous Innovation in Terminal Operations (ANITA) project.
“This project is crucial for the autonomous trucks that we expect to put on the roads from 2030,” de Creisquer states.
“Autonomous driving is getting closer, and we must be prepared,” he adds.
This plan features the standard MAN TGX 18.510 semi-trailer.
It is a trekker unit with 510 horsepower, equipped with two long-lasting 210 Ah batteries.
This model is equipped with six Hesai LiDAR systems, a company that provides solutions for this type of vehicle.
These units are responsible for detecting objects and share the work with six radars and nine cameras.
While for many companies, like Man Truck & Bus, autonomous mobility is a reality, for others there are still challenges to address.
In this regard, François Roudier, Communication Director of the Plateforme Automobile (PFA), explains to Mobility Portal Europe that this type of driving “is complicated because the investments are huge. Software, new materials, and new ways of manufacturing cars are a problem”.
Furthermore, he adds: “Autonomous cars are nice, we are all dreaming of it, but it’s not something that customers are really asking for“.
Along the same lines, Roudier comments that pilot tests by certain companies “were not good” and that this “would not be overlooked in Europe”.
Undoubtedly, autonomous mobility presents multiple benefits for the sector. However, these and other challenges must be addressed to ensure that there are more and more vehicles of this type on the roads.
In this sense, it is essential that regulations accompany future mobility.
It is worth mentioning that with Regulation on the General Safety of Vehicles 2019/2144 and Implementing Regulation 2022/1426, the European Union (EU) created the legal framework for the approval of automated and fully autonomous vehicles in the region.
In this way, the EU recognized that harmonized and coordinated legislation is crucial to promote the integration of this type of transport safely and efficiently.
These measures came into force on July 6, 2022, and establish specific requirements, such as driver assistance systems for all new vehicles from July 2024.
Additionally, the European Commission’s “Europe on the Move” initiative of 2023 outlined a comprehensive strategy to harness the benefits of autonomous vehicles while addressing legal challenges.
On the other hand, it is worth noting that these types of cars are governed by a gradual automation system divided into six levels, with Level 0 being no automation, and Level 5 being full vehicle autonomy.
In the region, some countries like Germany, have already approved the first SAE Level 3 systems for highway driving and an SAE Level 4 system for driverless parking.
However, other countries present legal obstacles regarding the permission of circulation of this type of transport.
Spain is one of the cases that has difficulties.
Although it took the first step to advance in autonomous driving with the new Traffic Law approved in 2022, since then, no further progress has been made, and it remains at Level 2.
What are the benefits of autonomous driving?
The autonomous driving system offers several advantages, which is why some countries and companies are incorporating it into their reality.
According to Swarco, an Austrian traffic technology corporation, among these features, greater safety stands out, as it eliminates human errors due to fatigue, lack of attention, or incorrect driver behaviour.
This drastically reduces the number of accidents.
It also highlights time savings and increased comfort, as in higher levels of autonomy, drivers can relax, take short breaks, and devote their time to other tasks.
Additionally, it emphasizes a greater efficiency in traffic and space, as vehicles have the ability to communicate with each other, meaning better flow for both circulation and parking.
Optimizing driving also helps save energy because cars take shorter routes.
Read more: NeXT: What benefits does the “shortest” autonomous bus in the market offer?
