Autonomous Trucks
Locomation is testing and developing a form of human-guided autonomy that combines automated driving technology with truck platooning. While most developers of Level 4 autonomous truck technology are targeting driverless operation, some see near-term business cases for highly automated, self-driving trucks with a driver still in the vehicle. Like many of its competitors in the autonomous truck space, Plus is working to enable unmanned trucks in the future. In April, Plus announced a partnership with engine manufacturer Cummins Inc. to develop “driver-in,” supervised autonomous trucks powered by compressed natural gas. Eventually, that approach could potentially lead to truck platoons with a human-driven truck leading an unmanned follower truck.