Autonomous truck to hit the roads of Melbourne

Transurban has confirmed that an autonomous truck trial will begin this week between Warrigal road on Melbourne's Monash Freeway and Todd road on the West Gate Freeway, travelling through the Burnley and Domain tunnels.

The truck is a modified Hino 700 Series prime mover with a single trailer and will carry 'technology trial in progress’ signage. A ‘safety driver’ will also be on board and the truck will be accompanied by pilot vehicles.

Transurban has said the trials will be held at night between the hours of 9.00pm and 2.00am. The autonomous truck will use the right-hand lane and the lane will be closed to other traffic.

Transurban’s 24/7 traffic control room will monitor the truck and surrounding traffic conditions and collect data from the truck.

According to Transurban, CityLink is one of the most technologically sophisticated roads in the world, with embedded technology including more than 600 CCTV cameras, automatic incident detection systems and smart sensors to monitor for traffic incidents such as debris and stopped vehicles.

During the trial, real-time data from CityLink’s systems will be fed directly to the truck, enabling it to understand road and traffic conditions beyond its sensors.

Before being let out on the road, the truck and driver went through testing at the Australian Automotive Research Centre (AARC) testing facility in Anglesea, Victoria.

Transurban said the trials will “help the company understand how roads and on-road technology can be future-proofed to help keep freight moving in smart, safe and efficient ways, ultimately supporting the growth of Melbourne’s economy and population”.

The trials are set to run through until mid-December.