Resembling the helmet of a Star Wars stormtrooper, a driverless electric truck began daily freight deliveries on a public road in Sweden on Wednesday.
In what the company behind it is claiming is a world first, the truck without a cab or driver is now being tested on a public road in Sweden, mixing with other traffic as it moves goods around an industrial zone.
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 truck makers.
The "T-Pod" truck is supervised remotely by an operator who can take control if necessary. While other companies, such as Tesla, TuSimple and Embark operate driverless trucks, a human operator is always in the cab.
Einride’s T-Pod is 26 tonnes 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 26-ton truck is equipped with cameras, radars and 3D sensors, which give it 360-degree awareness of its surroundings. Einride's T-Pod is a level 4 autonomous vehicle (the second highest level of autonomy) and uses the Nvidia Drive platform to process visual data in real time. Its systems are connected via a 5G network. It has a range of 200 kilometres (124 miles).
An Einride spokesperson said the T-Pod will be making the trip several times a day during the trial. The truck can reach speeds of up to 85 kilometres per hour (53 miles per hour), but is only allowed to drive at 5 kilometres per hour (3 miles per hour) during the trial. The speed limit was set by the Swedish Transport Agency.
"Heavy road transport is responsible for a substantial part of global CO2 emissions. The pilot in Jönköping is a small but important step towards a sustainable transport system. The permit from the Swedish Transport Agency is an important testimonial to the safety of the solution," Robert Falck, CEO of Einride, told Reuters.
The American Trucking Associations said transport companies need roughly 60,000 extra drivers. In Europe, there are 150,000 unfilled truck driver positions, according to Transport Intelligence, a logistics research company.