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Science/Tech See other Science/Tech Articles Title: Otto Wants Big Rigs to Drive Themselves 'Exit to Exit' - And Has a Plan to Make it Happen Fast LatinPost... What do you get when a couple dozen former Google, Apple, and Tesla employees get together? A startup called Otto -- quite possibly the most disruptive tech since the Internet. Until this week, when Backchannel published the first report about the company, Otto was a so-called "stealth startup." Led by 15 former Google engineers, including some behind Google's self-driving car and maps projects, the startup's approximately 40 employees have been working in secrecy on a different (and bigger) kind of self-driving technology. On late Monday night, Otto unveiled itself and its mission: To replace the country's fleet of (human-piloted) big rigs with the self-driving variety. The Faster Lane Google, Tesla, and Apple (reportedly) have all worked on creating driverless cars. The route these companies have decided to go -- due to Tesla's nature, according to rumors about Apple, and made manifestly obvious by Google's cute car pods -- is to build new driverless cars from the ground up. Otto's strategy is different, and represents a much faster way to introduce self-driving technology to the fleet of over 4 million commercial trucks that haul goods across the country every day. Otto wants to equip existing big rigs with an array of tech to turn them into autonomous trucks. "To speed the adoption of self-driving technology, we began by equipping existing trucks on the road with our unique self-driving kit," wrote Otto co-founders Anthony Levandowski and Lior Ron on the company's introductory blog post. "We are developing a suite of sensors, software and truck enhancements coming together in a product that can be quickly outfitted on existing trucks." Right now, the company is testing its self-driving kit -- which Otto says will cost a "small fraction" of the price of a new big rig cab -- with a fleet of three research vehicles in Nevada, and just completed its first autonomous demonstration on a public highway. The scale of Otto's intentions behind its invention is clear. Otto plans to "bring this technology to every corner of the U.S. highway system." The Definition of Disruption "Disruption" has become an overused term in Silicon Valley over the past decade, but the ambition and possibilities inherent to Otto's mission and method earn the genuine application of this buzzword. That's because the trucking industry is huge -- and a vital part of the United States economy. Trucking accounts for than three million jobs in the U.S. economy, and millions more employed in related industries. According to American Trucking Association figures cited by The New York Times, about one in every 15 people employed in the U.S. is touched by the trucking industry. And while Otto stops short of promising to replace truckers entirely -- the co-founders wrote their kit is "designed to empower truck drivers to drive more safely and efficiently" and is only meant to drive the rigs "exit to exit" on highways -- the economic implications of automating trucks to even that extent are likely huge. The driver will still be there, rest assured, but will become little more than a chauffer to safely get the trucks through city streets, to and from their final destinations. "We want to get the technology to the point where it's safe to let the driver rest and sleep in his cabin and we can drive for him," said Otto to Backchannel. "This is what allows us to change 11 hours' driving into 24." Otto rightly plays up the other disruptive element of their plans: safety. Truckers are only allowed to drive 11 hours per day for safety reasons, but Otto points out that the accident rate goes up "exponentially" after hour 10. And truck accidents are disproportionately dangerous to public safety compared to other vehicles. According to U.S. Department of Transportation data, while trucks account for about 5.6 percent of total miles driven nationally, they are responsible for 9.5 of highway fatalities. Robots Hit the Road While Otto may have the most expedient plan to automate trucking, it's not guaranteed to be the pivot point for a multi-billion dollar industry. But it's also not alone. Just last month, Quartz reported that Volvo and Daimler had just completed a week of their self-driving trucks traveling over a thousand miles across Europe. Translation: it's just a matter of time. Automation is not only increasingly driving change, it's probably taking the driver's seat sooner than you think. SEE ALSO Google Self-Driving Cars Still Require Driver to Avoid Crashing Majority of Americans Personally Averse to Riding in Driverless Cars, Still See Benefits — Study Driverless Cars at CES 2015: Self-Driving Automobiles Shine in Las Vegas Poster Comment: If drivers don't have to stop for a nap, produce should be fresher, less costly. But will sleep on the move be as restful as in stationary bed? Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
#1. To: Tatarewicz (#0)
More and more automation is coming. First drivers can sleep. Later drivers will just meet the trucks at a rest area or exit eliminating long distance drivers. Then it is just another step up before the trucks can drive themselves within cities. Already Wendy's it planning automated fast food and Walmart and other have the option of self-service checkout. Soon there will be automated checkout using robots that operate 24/7 at a lower cost than humans. Always in the past, automation made workers more productive and/or displaced workers would find other jobs. I am not sure that will be the case in ten years when ten million workers--truck drivers, check out clerks are displaced.
Loblaws, Safeway and Sobeys in Canada have self-serve checkouts in some locations; one "supervisor" looks after up a dozen customers at once. Less waiting in line; not held up by glitches cashiers encounter. Once automation becomes predominant politicians will have to introduce guaranteed income. Be a while before they and the public gain enough smarts to eliminate monetary transactions, provide everyone with basics of food, shelter, health care etc.,allocating additional wants on the basis of an individual's merit based on education, training, skills, inventiveness and other contributions to society.
I guess you never drove a truck. Let me tell you that I did, and covered a lot of miles coast to coast without an accident. When you drive team, you get used to the hours you drive. And you get used to the rumble and bumps in the road when you sleep. When I drove solo, I was good at finding my way around and could read a map and road signs. If I missed a turn, I caught it quick and put it right. Nowadays they have GPS in the truck so you don't even need a map any longer. But a smart driver would keep one anyway, just in case. ;) There have been rule changes since I last drove, so I have to study up on the rules so I can get my CDL back and go trucking again. ;) "When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one." Edmund Burke
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