Testing lies at the heart of autonomous truck success

The success of autonomy relies largely on the sufficient testing of the technology, particularly for autonomous trucks, for which safety and efficiency are paramount concerns. Public road testing of autonomous passenger cars is already challenging; testing autonomous big rigs on public roads is exponentially more difficult, given the added technological challenge associated with their size, coupled with the difficulties of alleviating public concern and meeting regulatory requirements. As a result, there is only limited public road testing of medium and heavy duty autonomous trucks, with test results limited to understanding how vehicles perform in very controlled conditions. Testing needs to be safe, but limiting it to isolated zones may not adequately represent the real road and traffic conditions in which these vehicles would be operating.