GTPNewsWire
Contributing Writer
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This is the discussion thread for a recent post on GTPlanet:
This article was published by Joe Donaldson (@Joey D) on September 14th, 2018 in the Automotive News category.
Volvo Trucks Introduces Vera, a Fully Autonomous Electric Semi Truck
- Thread starter GTPNewsWire
- 26 comments
- 3,913 views
- 196
- Croatia
...am I the only one who thinks it looks cute? 
- 2,227
- Bács-Kiskun
This? Truck? Don't make me laugh. This is a real truck.
- 3,177
- St helens, merseyside, England.
- crazybuttocks198
- Crazybuttocks19
Just needs to detect immigrants trying to break into trailers, going to the UK and other countries.
- 5,051
- Netherlands
I think they better get a 1-2 ton vehicle driving autonomously first, before sending a 20 Ton vehicle on the road.
That said, there are a lot of trucksimulator fans out there spending hours upon hours on that game. Why not let them drive the trucks remotely in real life?
That said, there are a lot of trucksimulator fans out there spending hours upon hours on that game. Why not let them drive the trucks remotely in real life
?
- 3,177
- St helens, merseyside, England.
- crazybuttocks198
- Crazybuttocks19
Unless they suddenly think that are playing Carmageddon.I think they better get a 1-2 ton vehicle driving autonomously first, before sending a 20 Ton vehicle on the road.
That said, there are a lot of trucksimulator fans out there spending hours upon hours on that game. Why not let them drive the trucks remotely in real life
- 5,051
- Netherlands
Lol dont know if they even remember that game. But trucksim players are pretty hardcore from what I have seen though. I never tried it, but honestly also no interested to try it.
- 973
- United States
- Fallen_log
Then you never seen online play of ETS2. The driver's there are terrible at the best of times.
- 286
- Barcelona
- topu999
I'm curious, wouldn't it be better if it had a "top", empty and made of aluminium or even plastic just to improve aero and efficiency? As it is right now the air hits the trailer at a 90° angle, an angled top would be better and without an engine or a driver it wouldn't need to be anything special right?
- 10,836
- Belgium
- bramturismo
- 20,681
- TenEightyOne
- TenEightyOne
Huh? It sits under the front of the trailer, the trailer would behave an aerodynamic front. Think of a normal tractor chassis without the big bit at the front for a human, that's all this is. The fronts of trailers are only flat because they sit behind that at present. Additionally, I can see these doing a lot of dockyard/storeyard work where speeds are relatively low.
- 3,346
- Albania
This amazing technological marvels give us a bright perspective about a marvelous future of unemployment and social misery.
How many truck drivers are in the world?
Maybe technological ideas to create jobs and to keep kids away from guns and gangster lifestyles would be a better way to invest money.
How many truck drivers are in the world?
Maybe technological ideas to create jobs and to keep kids away from guns and gangster lifestyles would be a better way to invest money.
- 286
- Barcelona
- topu999
Yes, I understand that. What I mean is that if this were to be used on roads, where the speeds would cause quite a bit of drag, then having nothing would be detrimental. Language barrier is screwing me over here, I don't know how to say what I'm trying to say, but imagine this but for the entire height on the trailer to reduce drag:
Of course if it's being used in dockyards, etc., then there's no need but in highways it'd help range a lot.
Joey D
Premium
- 47,426
- Lakes of the North, MI
- GTP_Joey
- GTP Joey
There's a huge shortage of truck drivers in many places, especially in the US.
But there will be truck driving jobs for decades to come. Even if something like this takes off, they won't be able to do the long haul routes or carry stuff like logs off a mountainside - at least not initially.
- 2,934
- Columbus, Ohio
I was just thinking that it looks an awful lot like the trailer tugs that move things around large freight depots, just without the little enclosure the driver is in. And in addition to low speeds, there would be more carefully controlled areas in a freight yard for these to move in, so full autonomy would function better than if they were setting them loose on the open road.
- 24,617
- Anoka, MN
It's crazy how many industries have shortages at the moment. On the topic of drivers there is such a big shortage of school bus drivers here it's considered newsworthy and pretty much every trucking company has a big "now hiring" sign on their trucks.
- 2,934
- Columbus, Ohio
A lot of it has to do with the older career people retiring in large numbers, and younger people not wanting to work far away from home anymore, let alone spend several days at a time traveling. The airline industry has been having the same problem.
It also doesn't help that these industries require special licenses and other training that often have to be paid for out of pocket, and in the case of trucking almost every place expects you to be an owner/operator as well... and even a 5 year old second hand truck will set you back as much as a new BMW, so that's a pretty high barrier of entry as well.
- 24,617
- Anoka, MN
I'm not even talking about OTR, there's local companies struggling to get people on-board even with paid training, supplying the truck and only doing local routes. It's the same thing for trade jobs, nobody wants to be an electrician, HVAC tech (me) or plumber, framer etc. despite the fact you can make decent money.
I think it has more to do with people's idea of success being a white collar job, which is odd considering how miserable most of them seem.
- 2,934
- Columbus, Ohio
That is true, blue collar jobs do tend to get a bad rep despite their paying as much as or often more then the tech sector jobs that are overcrowded now. Though that can be attributed to a lot of the younger workforce growing up during the dot-com bubble, and being told that IT was where the big money was (before computers became ubiquitous and greatly simplified).
The recent AI/autonomy hoopla hasn't helped on that front either, as now everyone thinks they'll be in a nice office monitoring the trucks driving themselves around, while ignoring the reality that fully autonomous vehicles are still at least a couple decades away from being viable and much farther away from being commonplace.
- 120
- Bornem
As a truck driver I find that 'thing' wich Volvo created verry disgusting. Glad I drive DAF. When they released the photos they told in the interview they don't want to take jobs from people, so the people who drive Terberg etc are animals?
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