Autonomous

As truck makers and technology developers work toward introducing vehicles with some level of automated driving features in the years ahead, it will be essential for drivers to have a clear understanding of what those systems can and cannot do and how much they can rely on them.

Advances in sensor technology will play a key role in the development of increasingly sophisticated driver- assist systems and the eventual deployment of self-driving trucks in commercial fleets.

If autonomous vehicles are the future of the trucking industry, what is the future of the truck driver? On the surface, it might appear to some casual observers that automation could soon spell the end of the truck driving profession, but that perception quickly falls apart when examining the current limitations of the technology and the stark realities of trucking’s labor needs.

RALEIGH, N.C. — The threat of cyberattacks to the trucking and logistics industries is real, the number of attacks are growing and each attack has the potential to cripple a company, according to a panel of experts June 6 at the Fleet Data Management and Cybersecurity Conference here.

PORTLAND, Ore. — Daimler Trucks is opening an automated truck research and development center here at its North American headquarters to help pave the way for highly automated commercial vehicles.

Britain is stepping up its plans to be a leader in self-driving cars. The government is awarding 25 million pounds ($33 million) this week to as many as six projects that will research and test autonomous vehicles on highways and on trials of remote-control parking.

SoftBank Group Corp.’s Masayoshi Son wants his company to grow for 300 years, and he’s willing to pour billions of dollars into far-out technology to make it happen.

In a small side room at Washington’s Union Station, this year’s Infrastructure Week kicked off with a keynote address from Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. She again pointed to the private sector and state and municipal officials as being the key drivers on infrastructure funding. Before the secretary’s address, Austin, Texas, Mayor Steve Adler had offered the infrastructure intelligentsia in attendance a different message. A look at the week ahead for trucking on Capitol Hill.

An automaker like General Motors Co. brings two advantages to the development of self-driving vehicles: knowledge of how to build a car and the factories to do it. Silicon Valley’s biggest entrants into autonomous vehicles, particularly Alphabet Inc., have legions of coders and piles of cash.

International logistics giant DHL has been active in the United States this spring, laying the foundation for a major marketing and education center and growing a service facility in Florida.