Driverless Electric Truck Starts Deliveries On Swedish Public Road

Reuters reports that a driverless electric truck has begun daily freight deliveries on a public road in Sweden. Slashdot reader Kiuas shares the report: Robert Falck, the CEO of Swedish start-up Einride, said the company was in partnership talks with major suppliers to help scale production and deliver orders, and the firm did not rule out future tie-ups with large truckmakers. 'This public road permit is a major milestone and it is a step to commercializing autonomous technology on roads,' the former Volvo executive told Reuters. 'Since we're a software and operational first company, a partnership with a manufacturing company is something that we see as a core moving forward,' he said, adding he hoped to seal a deal by next year.

Einride's T-Pod is 26 tons when full and does not have a driver cabin, which it estimates reduces road freight operating costs by around 60 percent versus a diesel truck with a driver. The T-Pod is level 4 autonomous, the second highest category, and uses a Nvidia Drive platform to process visual data in real time. An operator, sitting miles away, can supervise and control up to 10 vehicles at once. The T-Pod has permission to make short trips - between a warehouse and a terminal - on a public road in an industrial area in Jonkoping, central Sweden, at up to 5 km/hr, documents from the transport authority show. Falck said Einride would apply next year for more public route permits and was planning to expand in the United States.

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