Scania: autonomous trucks need real-world experience

Real-life trials of autonomous vehicles are needed to determine what systems support and services are needed to keep vehicles continuously on the road.

That's the message Scania's director of new business solutions, Anders Dewoon, presented at the Global Forum on Connected Cars in Munich last week.

"There is no doubt that we will master the technology but we need to learn more about the systems support that will be required," Dewoon told the assembled experts.

"We need to test business models as well as how services can be effectively reorganised for vehicles in motion 24/7."

Dewoon sees huge potential efficiencies with autonomous trucks and buses but says the roll-out will need to be managed to reflect the environmental and legal framework of the country they are operating in.

"We have seen the inherent inefficiency in logistics with low fill rates. Connectivity, and the prospect of increasing loads with the help of better data, shared more openly in situational and more permanent collaborative models, will contribute to a more sustainable transport system," he said.

"The economic benefits of autonomy are so great that manually driven trucks and buses will be unable to compete."

Scania was one of the early champions of 'platooning', where convoys of semi-automated and digitally connected trucks drove in nose-to-tail convoy, but Dewoon says the recent decision by the European Commission not to reform driving and rest period regulations has reduced the attractiveness of this intermediate step on the road to full autonomy.

Dewoon now advocates more ambitious trials with autonomous vehicles, such as hub-to-hub transports on dedicated motorway lanes.

"We as truck manufacturers need to partner with others to really explore the full scope of what this new technology will entail," he said.

He told the forum that Scania and other vehicle manufacturers must re-examine their businesses when the value added through the combustion engine and cab no longer exists.

"We must find a different role in this ecosystem and, based on the wealth of data we collect, can in partnership operate a more efficient logistics system."