Britain Joins List of Countries Testing Autonomous Trucks
LONDON — A wide array of companies are competing to dominate the future of autonomous cars, from Silicon Valley giants like Apple
and Google, to traditional carmakers like BMW and Ford.
The first truck in the platoon, however, will control the acceleration
and braking of all three, using technology to optimize the latter trucks’ trailing distance to reduce drag, helping cut fuel consumption and vehicle emissions.
Scania, a unit of the German carmaker Volkswagen, said in January it would test platooning technology in Singapore, while the Netherlands
has promoted research into it as well, by running a challenge where driverless trucks from across Europe traversed the continent.
The 8.1 million pound, or $10.4 million, project will be carried out by a consortium of companies, including
Transport Research Laboratory, a British research firm, and DHL, the delivery and logistics company
Britain on Friday joined a growing list of countries
and companies financing research into automating haulage, announcing a trial of self-driving trucks that will see real-world tests next year.