The world’s first production-ready Mercedes-Benz autonomous truck hit the roads on October 2 on its maiden journey.
The historic journey, marking an important moment in the use of autonomous vehicles on the highway, was undertaken by Dr. Wolfgang Berhand (member of Daimler AG Board) and Winifried Kretschmann (Minister-President of the state of Baden-Wurttemberg which is also the birthplace of the vehicle) along Autobahn 8 between Denkendorf and Stuttgart. The Mercedes-Benz Actros truck is equipped with an Intelligent Highway Pilot system to enable it to navigate public roads safely. It is registered as a test vehicle and the journey was authorised by the German state authorities.
The Highway Pilot version used for the maiden journey is semi-autonomous, with the driver having full responsibility for monitoring the traffic and intervening where required. The system uses radar, stereo and cruise control systems for steering itself and warns the driver to take over if the road markings are not visible either due to deterioration or visibility factors. As an added safety measure the vehicle will come to a halt if the driver fails to respond to warning signals.
Daimler has been a pioneer in autonomous driving unveiling the Mercedes Benz Future Truck 2025 in July 2014 and the Freightliner Inspiration Truck in May this year. The Mercedes-Benz Autonomous truck however is the first truck which is ready to be put into the production cycle and used on public roads.