Plus and the Traton Group of brands — Scania, MAN and International — launched their Level 4, AI-based autonomous driving software, Super Drive, in the U.S. and Europe, the companies announced Thursday.
[RELATED: Wabash supporting Kodiak's autonomous fleet]
"Deploying a global product requires seamless integration across people and technology," says Peter Hafmar, vice president and head of autonomous solutions at Scania. Hafmar leads the coordination of autonomous solutions for Traton Group. "We're proud of the progress we've made in our Level 4 autonomous trucking program with Plus, and excited to move to the next phase of our collaboration, which will include continued technology developing in addition to fleet trials in Texas in the coming months."
The companies established a process for release and testing that includes offline testing, closed-course evaluations and extensive public road testing in the U.S. and Europe. International and Plus plan to use Texas as the start of autonomous hub-to-hub transport operations in the U.S. It will then expand the route to other states and, eventually, cover the U.S.
[RELATED: California legislators pushing for driverless autonomous truck ban]
"Today's milestone exemplifies Plus's ability to quickly deliver a safe and scalable AI-centric autonomous driving system that can already operate on two continents for the Traton Group," says Shawn Kerrigan, COO and co-founder of Plus. "The next phase of fleet pilots will help fleets gain a practical understanding of how to integrate our autonomous trucks into their operations, and the safety and efficiency benefits these trucks bring."
The software can operate under different weather conditions, including snow and extreme heat. SuperDrive also adjusts to the behavior differences of road users and diverse driving conditions.
