Life in the Mercedes-Benz Future Truck

Daimler has released another tantalising video clip of its Future Truck 2025, showcasing the role of the truck driver in a very different light

Daimler Truck & Bus has produced another slick video clip of its autonomous concept truck, the Future Truck 2025.

Named as it is because Mercedes-Benz believes the truck could be a road-going reality in just over a decade, the clip shows just how much the role of the heavy vehicle driver could be set to change.

When cruising down the autobahn the driver simply activates the truck's advanced 'Highway Pilot' – essentially something similar to an autopilot system found on modern aircraft. The driver's seat then retracts and swivels 45 degrees, allowing the driver to stretch out, relax, and enjoy a good book (or perhaps attend to a range of other, somewhat more work-related duties!).

In Highway Pilot mode the truck relies on a series of radars and sensors to monitor its surrounding environment, steering, braking and accelerating as required.

Explained by Dr Wolfgang Bernhard, Daimler Board Member for Trucks and Buses, the concept truck could well be a window to the future of the road freight industry. Mercedes-Benz says much of the safety technology involved is already available; the manufacturer is now turning its attention to negotiating with Europe's legislators to bring about the regulatory change required to accommodate self-guided vehicles, as it further hones the technology.

The Future Truck 2025 made its debut in a closed road trial in Germany in early July, ahead of its public premiere at the IAA commercial vehicle expo last month.

While the arrival of volume production autonomous vehicles, both passenger cars and commercial vehicles, is still some way off, the clip underlines one indisputable truth – in the years ahead the relentless march of technology is set to revolutionise the road freight task. Check out the clip below and see for yourself...

Life in the Mercedes-Benz Future Truck

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