The first self-driving big rig licensed to operate in the US
A Daimler-built autonomous truck can now legally operate on the highways of Nevada. Gov. Brian Sandoval has officially granted the "Freightliner Inspiration Truck" a license for road use in the state, making it the first of its kind to navigate public roads in the US. The Inspiration's "Highway Pilot system" is loaded with cameras, radars, other sensors and computer hardware like most autonomous vehicles. However, it's not completely self-driving -- it still needs a human driver behind the wheel.
According to the big rig's official website, when the semi-autonomous system takes over, its sensors and computers are "responsible for maintaining legal speed, staying in the selected lane, keeping a safe braking distance from other vehicles, and slowing or stopping the vehicle based on traffic and road conditions." That frees up the driver to do other tasks, like doing the inventory, route planning and scheduling. Certain conditions require it to transfer control back to the driver, though, particularly when exiting a highway, driving on local roads and docking to drop off deliveries.
The truck had to undergo rigorous testing before it was granted a license and had to drive over 10,000 miles on a circuit in Germany. At the moment, there are two operational Inspiration trucks, and it's unclear if Daimler's making more of them.
Check out the Inspiration unveil in Las Vegas:
[Image credit: Freightliner Trucks/Instagram]
