Daimler Truck is the first heavy vehicle manufacturer to demonstrate the efficiency of the first electric and autonomous truck, even surpassing the Tesla Semi.
He first electric and autonomous truck It is a masterpiece of Daimler Truckthe German company that owns the most important brands for Europe, such as Mercedes Benzand Freightliner for North America, and which has just demonstrated its qualities in the first real field test.
This milestone for the transportation market proposed by the German group aims to lead the transformation towards sustainability and address the challenges of tomorrow through the vision of “zero emissions” and “zero accidents” by combining the two most promising technologies: electric propulsion by battery and integrated autonomous driving technology.
Freightliner eCascadia, the first electric and autonomous truck
The first electric and autonomous truck is based on the Freightliner eCascadia series production powered by batteries but equipped with autonomous driving software Torc Robotics along with the latest level 4 computing and sensor technology.
Torc Robotics is Daimler Truck’s independent subsidiary for virtual autonomous driving technology. While it remains an advanced research and engineering project, the Autonomous truck has the potential to evolve into a modular and scalable platform which is independent of the propulsion for flexible use in different road transport applications.
“By combining autonomous and zero-emission technologies into a single product, we are testing solutions to the challenges our customers are likely to face in the future,” said John O’Leary, president and CEO of Daimler Truck North America.
He Freightliner eCascadia Battery electric, the leader in the North American market, entered production in 2022 and to date the models have reached 6 million miles (more than 9.5 million km) in more than 55 fleets in the United States.
this truck Class 8 zero emissions can be recharged up to 80 percent of its capacity in just 90 minutes, and is available in several Detroit ePowertrain battery and driveline options, providing range from 155 miles (250 km), up to 230 miles (370 km), depending on tractor configuration.
This first electric and autonomous truck is designed with many points in common with the production eCascadia, taking advantage of synergies in the development process, streamlining production processes. That is why all this technology can not only a heavy battery but also future hydrogen models.
The technology that transforms the eCascadia into the world’s first electric and autonomous truck focuses on the autonomous sensor array on the internally designed bar, which incorporates cameras, lidar sensors (laser technology) and radar sensors, which improves aerodynamic performance while providing better protection against damage and dirt.
To ensure proper cooling, the engineering team at Daimler Truck North America developed an advanced prototype air-cooling concept for the computing stack, which is oddly positioned between the driver and passenger seats.
In turn, the customized software provides the autonomous system with control interfaces and feedback on the state of the vehicle, since The system has four additional 12-volt batteries which supply enough high voltage power to ensure uninterrupted operation and higher efficiency and safety.
The first electric and autonomous truck will be the ideal model, as explained by the company, in center to center applications as the truck’s intention is to drive autonomously between loading centers along US highway corridors.
