While Self-Driving Car Hype Decelerates, Automated Trucks Grab Attention at CES

Even as automated vehicle developers tamped down inflated expectations for fully self-driving passenger cars at CES 2020, several companies continued to tout the market potential for highly automated commercial vehicles.

Original equipment manufacturers, component suppliers and technology startups showcased self-driving truck prototypes and highlighted their investments in this emerging field during the massive technology show while offering a range of views on how automated trucking might take shape in the years ahead.

Truck maker Paccar Inc. and technology startup Plus.ai exhibited heavy-duty trucks outfitted with sensors and software designed to eventually enable Level 4 automated driving, meaning the vehicle would be able to operate autonomously in certain conditions without relying on a driver as a fallback…

Self-driving technology also could be deployed in conjunction with platooning systems that wirelessly connect two or more trucks, enabling them to travel in tight convoys on the highway.

Pittsburgh-based startup Locomation, for example, is testing and developing a two-truck platooning system where the following truck could drive itself with no input.
More>>