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Advances in technology are changing everything from how we interact with friends and family to products we buy. Technology is also bringing significant changes to Class 8 trucks, and the trucks of the future are likely to use autonomous technologies, such as adaptive cruise control systems, self-steering technology and vehicle-to-vehicle communication. Those advances will take decisions out of the hands of drivers and leave them to the vehicle and could, potentially, make driverless trucks a thing of the future.

Autonomous and semi-autonomous trucks will also bring changes to the truckstop and travel plaza industry, but Darren Schulte, vice president of membership for NATSO, said they have the potential to create opportunities operators haven’t yet considered, particularly within the shop and food-service areas.

“I am a strong proponent of knowing your customer—and not just who your customer is today but also who they might be tomorrow. By understanding how customers are changing and how their industry is changing, truckstop and travel plaza operators can prepare for their future needs,” Schulte said.

The Technology
Steven Shladover, a research engineer at the University of California, Berkeley, said most of the major manufacturers are already testing autonomous technology in one form or another, adding that eventually trucks will be equipped with different levels of automated technology.

Paacar, Daimler and Volvo have all done testing of autonomous technologies. In mid-2015, Freightliner revealed its Inspiration Truck—the first licensed autonomous commercial truck to operate on an open public highway in the United States. The truck is currently being tested on roadways in Nevada.

The Inspiration Truck has a number of features that can free up demands on the driver. For example, a driver can activate the Highway Pilot option via the touch of a button on the steering wheel. “Highway Pilot links together sophisticated cameras and radar technology with systems providing lane stability, collision avoidance, speed control, braking, steering and an advanced dash display to allow for safe autonomous operation on public highways,” Daimler said on its website. 

While some technologies are in a test phase, others are already available to carriers and being used in today’s vehicles.

“The autonomous truck of the future is an extension of existing, individual systems already available for today’s commercial vehicles,” said Bill Kahn, Peterbilt principal engineer and manager of advanced concepts.

Shladover said the first level of automation comes from adaptive cruise control systems, which are currently available in some vehicles. The technology uses forward looking radar to adjust the speed of the vehicle when it senses traffic. Drivers are still responsible for steering the vehicle, but Shladover expects that to change in the near future.

Adaptive cruise control can be enhanced when vehicle-to-vehicle communication is added and trucks could adjust their speeds in sync with the truck ahead of them. That type of technology is what could ultimately lead to driverless trucks running in a convoy. For driverless vehicles to be an option, they would have to run in a truck-only lane and be separated from cars and trucks, Shladover said.

Truck manufacturers, including DTNA, have said they have no plans to make driverless vehicles. Kahn noted the automation technologies are not driving replacement tools but rather complement the truck operator.

Opportunities For The Truckstop And Travel Plaza Industry

Schulte said it is important to consider the opportunities that the truckstop and travel plaza industry may be able to take advantage of with semi-autonomous and autonomous trucks.

“The first opportunity may come in the shop. The new technology will rely on increased electronics, which often require updates or maintenance,” Schulte said. “Turn and click seems to wear out much slower than anything electronic.”

Schulte told Stop Watch semi-autonomous vehicles may change the ways in which drivers entertain themselves while traveling down the road and will likely change what drivers think of as cab-friendly food. “It may become completely feasible for a driver to eat foods that they never would have considered taking on the go before, such as spaghetti or soups,” Schulte said.

Operators may also be able to take advantage of add-on sales in areas they haven’t even considered yet. “Think of how many industries, developers and software engineers have come to be simply because of the smartphone. Now remind yourself that the first iPhone was introduced in the U.S. just about eight years ago,” Schulte said. “We now have companies doing things we didn’t even think about 10 years ago. That is a trend that continues to develop with electronic technology.”

To avoid missing opportunities, Schulte said it is important for operators to understand who is shopping in their store. He said, “Questions you should be asking yourself include: What is your location known for; what types of products should your location carry; what will help grow your location’s sales; and where can your location be positioned in drivers’ minds? That insight will help you always stay current on opportunities and shifts in trends.”

Potential Market Hurdles
Just when and if increasingly semi-autonomous or even autonomous trucks hit the highways remains unknown. While manufacturers are working towards the technology, hurdles remain.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates within its National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Study that just over 90 percent of crashes are caused by human error, and many proponents of autonomous and semi-autonomous trucks believe they will enhance safety by taking decisions away from drivers. A computer, of course, doesn’t get tired, distracted or base decisions on emotions.

However, Shladover said there are safety concerns with driverless trucks, which may hinder the technology becoming a reality. He explained that a primary issue is that there is no way for a driver in the first truck to take control if there is a failure within the convoy.

Semi-autonomous trucks that still rely on a driver behind the wheel can cause concerns as well. “There is already evidence of people not paying attention with prototype vehicles that have been tested in experiments,” Shladover said. “There is a risk that drivers will become overly dependent on the system, or that drivers may try to cheat a little bit and try to use the system in situations in which it was not intended to be used.”

Photo Credit: Jules Clifford/NATSO

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