A platoon of autonomously driven trucks led by a human driver could help overcome regulatory hurdles believes SANY.SANY
Chinese heavy truck manufacturer SANY has confirmed its readiness to mass-produce its fourth-generation autonomous semi truck, with the first batch due this year.
Teaming up with Pony.ai, the heavy equipment manufacturer showcased a unique ‘human in the lead’ autonomous driving system that can help overcome regulatory concerns while also increasing fleet profits.
Automobile companies have been promoting autonomous driving for years. While there have been partial successes in the case of taxi services such as Waymo that operate only within a specific geographic area, a truly autonomous driving vehicle that can drive itself anywhere is still some distance from reality.
Last month, a California judge ruled that Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) was “deceptive marketing” and warned that it could revoke its licence to make and sell cars for 30 days. Tesla’s FSD is Level 2 out of 5 autonomous driving levels, with Level 5 being fully autonomous.
It is not completely clear what level of automation SANY plans to claim on its latest development, since there is clearly no human involved in at least most of the trucks.
Powered by Pony AI
SANY partnered with Pony in 2022 to develop autonomous-driving technology for its trucks. The duo was the first to demonstrate the world’s first 5G+automation+electrification for heavy-duty trucks, which have gone from prototypes to mass production.
Its newest model boasts a 400 kWh swappable battery pack that can also recharge via regenerative braking. Needless to say, the truck is equipped with radar and cameras to support autonomous functions. It adopts SANY’s drive-by-wire chassis design spanning six core areas: steering, braking, communication, power supply, computing, and sensing.
In a press release, the company also stated that its fourth-generation trucks had passed rigorous extreme-temperature and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) tests. This demonstrates the safety compliance of its autonomous systems for freight carriage.
“1+4” operation
For operational purposes, the company suggests a 1+4 autonomous platooning system, with a human driver in the lead truck and autonomous trucks following. The trucks are recommended for smart port and dryage applications.
The solution will help ease regulatory concerns while also helping smooth out edge cases in traffic. More importantly, it allows the use of automation technology in everyday use without waiting until it is perfect, delivering cost benefits from the early days of technology adoption.
Based on pilot tests, the 1+4 platooning solution reduces per-kilometer freight cost by 29 percent while increasing operating profit by 195 percent. SANY is hopeful that mass production of the truck will allow it to move from limited demonstration operations to large-scale unmanned commercial deployment.
“Mass production of the fourth-generation autonomous truck marks another milestone in SANY’s Digitalization and decarbonization strategy,” said Zhou Wanchun, Vice President of SANY Group and General Manager of SANY Heavy Truck Marketing in the press release.
“Our industry-leading fully redundant drive-by-wire chassis provides a reliable hardware foundation for autonomous driving. Through deep collaboration with Pony.ai, we are accelerating the scaled adoption of intelligent logistics equipment and delivering unprecedented gains in operational efficiency.”
While working with Sinotrans, China’s largest integrated logistics provider, SANY and Pony established a “Vehicle + Technology + Scenario” model to align production capacity, technological maturity, and real-world operations. The first batch of the fourth-generation semi trucks is expected this year.
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