Volvo Autonomous Solutions and Aurora have unveiled a jointly developed on-highway automated truck, a prototype of Volvo Trucks’ VNL model, integrated with the Aurora Driver technology.
According to the manufacturer, safety technologies already in place on the Volvo VNL, including Volvo Dynamic Steering (VDS) and automated transmission (I-Shift), create a redundant safety-based solution in the autonomous truck’s core systems to ensure safe operations are in place.
Additionally, bringing autonomous Volvo on-highway trucks to market will complement today’s transport system to help meet the increasing demand for moving goods while minimizing the environmental impact, the company says.
“We believe that autonomous solutions will complement the transport system of today and will be implemented where there is a purpose and where it makes sense,” said Sasko Cuklev, head of on-road solutions for Volvo Autonomous Solutions. “It is important for us to be part of this transformation, and together with our customers and partners, to be a leader in building up the new ecosystem.”
As Volvo Autonomous Solutions and Aurora continue to make progress with the Volvo VNL prototype, the partners are working toward the next step in implementing their hub-to-hub transport vision in North America. This includes identifying specific regions and routes to serve as the initial hubs for on-road highway testing. In addition, Volvo Autonomous Solutions says it is working closely with customers to understand their current and future needs, priorities and demands, in preparation for piloting the autonomous Volvo VNL in on-road, hub-to-hub transport scenarios, as well as the eventual adoption of autonomous technology commercially.
