Breakthrough in Autonomous Trucks Doesn’t Halt All Safety Concerns About Path Forward

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Some drivers on Interstate 45 in Texas were recently met with a sight they would not soon forget: A 53-foot semi-truck barreling down the five-lane highway with no one at the wheel.

The company behind this futuristic breakthrough is Aurora Innovation, which last month marked a major milestone by launching the first autonomous 18-wheeler to operate on a US highway. 

“I may be in the truck, but I’m just a passenger,” Aurora CEO Chris Urmson, who was sitting in the back of the truck at the time, wrote. “I’m passing the time by chatting with our team, drafting this blog, and watching YouTube.”

Aurora’s vision: More trucks, no drivers

The company currently has two driverless trucks, which have so far driven 1,200 miles, making deliveries along I-45. According to The New York Times, Aurora aims to scale that number to 20 vehicles. 

Aurora’s trucks are equipped with a range of high-tech features, including 360-degree sensors that can detect objects up to 1,000 feet away. The trucks are also rated Level 4 autonomy under SAE standards, meaning the system can perform all driving tasks under defined conditions without human intervention. By contrast, Tesla’s current system operates at Level 2 and requires human supervision. 

The advantages of self-driving trucks seem obvious. These vehicles can exceed the daily operating limits imposed on human drivers who need sleep. The trucks also adhere strictly to traffic laws, reduce fuel waste, and avoid risky behavior like aggressive braking or lane weaving.

“We have something like 2.7 million tests that we run the system through,” Urmson told The New York Times, referring to the company’s rigorous simulation protocols. Still, skepticism persists among industry veterans. 

Safety concerns about autonomous trucks

“My initial thought is: It’s scary,” said veteran trucker Angela Griffin, who has used trucks with AI-assisted features, as reported in The New York Times.

In one case, light rain confused her AI sensors. She’s worried that autonomous trucks might not correctly respond to complex traffic or sudden hazards. Currently, Aurora’s vehicles are limited to daytime operations in clear weather conditions. 

Further complicating the rollout is the lack of comprehensive federal oversight for autonomous trucks. “It’s potentially disastrous from a safety perspective,” John Samuelsen, head of the Transport Workers Union of America, said to The New York Times.

Even truck manufacturers remain cautious. Paccar, which builds Peterbilt trucks used by Aurora, has reportedly requested that a human supervisor be reintroduced into the cab during operations. 

“This technology is really good at things it’s practiced, and really bad at things it has never seen before,” said Philip Koopman, an engineering professor at Carnegie Mellon, told the NYT. “From a safety point of view, nobody knows how it’s going to turn out.”