Autonomous truck trials to start in Melbourne this week

The trucks, built up with the help of autonomous vehicle specialists Plus, will ply a route on the West Gate Freeway through to the Monash Freeway via CitiLink including the Burnley and Domain tunnels.

The trucks will reportedly carry two people, an emergency driver and an engineer to monitor the performance of the trucks. The trucks will be restricted to driving between the hours of 10:00pm and 5:00am to avoid traffic congestion.

The prime movers have been factory-fitted with Plus’s latest autonomous driving technologies and integrated with smart motorway infrastructure to enhance the perception and awareness capabilities of the autonomous trucks. The trucks will have capacity to carry up to 43 tonnes.

Work has been undertaken at IVECO's Melbourne Customer Innovation Centre to equip two new S-Way prime movers with Plus's Level 4 autonomous driving technology.

With road freight projected to grow steadily in the coming decades, self-driving trucks operating during off-peak periods have the potential to transform the freight industry by moving more goods, more quickly, and more safely. It is anticipated that this will also deliver positive economic and social outcomes for consumers, motorists and governments by reducing congestion and improving road safety.

Transurban is a leading global operator of smart motorways across Australia and North America, and this partnership leverages the benefits of smart road infrastructure and operations to complement truck technologies being developed by IVECO and Plus.

The Plus software uses advanced generative AI, machine learning, computer vision, and other state-of-the-art algorithms to empower vehicles with superhuman awareness and control.

A partnership between IVECO and Plus has also seen an autonomous S-Way operating in Europe on public roads for several months. A similar trial took place in late 2022.

Equipped with advanced lidar (light detection and ranging), radar and camera sensors, the autonomous driving software from Plus can detect and precisely track objects, predict their movement, and then safely manoeuvre the vehicle.

Additional features and capabilities are continuously added to the system through over-the-air updates.

The software builds on the IVECO S-Way’s suite of standard driver aids including advanced emergency braking, adaptive cruise control and lane departure warning.

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.

The trial is expected to last for six months.