Artificial intelligence has replaced the driver. The movement of unmanned trucks was opened along the M-11 highway. The launch is timed to coincide with the opening of the St. Petersburg Economic Forum. While unmanned vehicles will be accompanied by test engineers. In the future, it is planned to do without it. The artificial intelligence of an unmanned truck has subjugated everything. From gearbox to engine and steering. A real introverted machine. In the sense that there will be no people.
If we talk about the computer “vision” of these unmanned trucks, then they have a lot of “eyes”, for example, lidars – three-dimensional laser scanners, there are also side radars, there are cameras at 360 degrees, in general, there are a large number of different sensors, they are literally on the entire perimeter. Advance nearly 700 kilometers in 9.5 hours. This unmanned journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow along the M-11 Neva highway was solemnly launched by First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov and Transport Minister Vitaly Savelyev.
“Of course, this is a very important step for the economic development of Russia, we are starting to build a model of unmanned cargo traffic in Russia and to acquire the appropriate skills that will allow us to meet world standards, the latest global trends and also engage in unmanned vehicles,” said Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation Vitaly Savelyev.
Head-to-head with the road, the truck, despite having such digital intelligence, is still no slouch. So far in experimental mode, test engineers will be in the cockpit the whole time. Their task: to control, refuel, and they will also take control when bypassing the section of the highway near Tver.
A separate route has been set up especially for journalists to show the drones in action. Unusual sensations when there is no driver behind the wheel. There is some anxiety, but the calm is added by the fact that there are engineers nearby, who are still in control of the process. The car itself moves smoothly, smoothly, maintains speed evenly. Such cruise control, but also hands-free, you don’t need to manage it. The software of these trucks is exclusively domestic. To work independently on a public road without a driver, it is necessary for cars to pass a special certification. So far, only innovative KamAZ trucks meet these criteria.
“A digital map is like a limiter, the corridor along which the car can go, that is, it’s like a corridor here, I can’t go there, but inside the corridor, the car orients itself with the help of sensors, that is, it sees obstacles where you can speed up and where you can slow down, ”- explained the chief designer of intonation machines of KAMAZ PJSC Sergey Zarenko.
The federal project “Unmanned Logistics Corridors” has already been supported by several major Russian commercial freight carriers.
“Now the vehicle does not move for more than eight hours a day and it is idle for 16 hours. Unmanned and autopilot technologies should remove this inefficiency and significantly increase vehicle productivity,” suggested Ilya Dmitriev, chairman of the transport company’s board.
Among the first logistics companies, unmanned cargo transport between capitals was launched by Gazprom Neft. The company has been testing similar technologies in its industry for several years. This year, unmanned KamAZ vehicles began to fly on the Vostochno-Messoyakhskoye field, located on the Yamal Peninsula. Cars transport goods along a 140 kilometer seasonal route.
“We were the first in the industry to start the experiment, almost three years ago, and since then our operating experience has already exceeded 10,000 kilometres. Therefore, we really believe in this technology, we already have some operating experience, and we hope that the skills we have developed will allow us to further develop these technologies and bring them to the masses in our country,” said Igor Glebov-Zelinsky. .
The unmanned vehicles will help improve the efficiency of the company’s northern field logistics and increase the supply of necessary equipment and materials. So far, six multi-ton drones will fly between St. Petersburg and Moscow. It is expected that next year there will be twice as many of these independent trucks.
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