Driverless trucks set to hit roads next year
An illustration of the autonomous truck platooning technology. Photo: PSA Corporation
SINGAPORE — Driverless trucks, which would ease a manpower crunch in the industry, are set to hit the roads next year, as a three-year truck platooning trial gets under way this month.
The trials — taking place in two phases — will see a truck driven by a person leading a convoy of driverless trucks along the West Coast Highway next year, moving containers from one port terminal to another.
The lead vehicle communicates with the other vehicles wirelessly, and the vehicles can be de-coupled from each other to allow other road users to cross between them.
The Transport Ministry (MOT) and PSA Corporation signed agreements with automative companies Scania and Toyota Tsusho to design, develop and test the truck platooning system for use here.
In the first phase, which will last a year and starts this month, the two companies will design, test and refine the truck platooning technology, to adapt to the local road conditions, said the MOT and PSA in a press release on Monday (Jan 9).
Technology will be developed to enable heavy vehicles to move in a “leader-follower” formation, as well as automate the processes for docking and undocking of cargo. Scania and Toyota were shortlisted based on the quality of their proposals and strong track records in both truck manufacturing and the development of self-driving technology, the MOT and PSA said.
The trials will be conducted at the companies’ respective research centres in Sweden and Japan. One of the two companies will then be selected in the second phase to take the trial onto Singapore roads.
A 10km stretch of road along the West Coast Highway has been earmarked for the trial. The convoys will be transporting freight between Brani Terminal near Harbourfront, and Pasir Panjang Terminals. The MOT and PSA also said there was potential to extend it for haulage within port areas, and from Pasir Panjang Terminals to Tuas Port.
“Trucking, as we know it today, is a highly labour-intensive industry. We face a shortage of truck drivers,” said Permanent Secretary for Transport Pang Kin Keong, who also chairs the Committee on Autonomous Road Transport in Singapore (Carts).
He added: “(The trial) will also open up opportunities for truck drivers to take on higher-skilled roles as fleet operators and managers.”
The MOT and PSA also said the technology will allow more freight movement to be conducted at night to ease traffic congestion.
Monday’s signing of the agreements came after a Memorandum of Understanding was inked between MOT and PSA in Oct 2015 to collaborate and co-fund truck platooning projects.
