Self-Driving Truck

A China-made, self-driving truck has passed a navigation test, heralding the era of intelligent, automated heavy vehicles.

Truck manufacturer FAW Jiefang presented the self-driving truck at the FAW Tech Center in Changchun, Jilin Province. The vehicle is able to recognize obstacles, slow down, make a detour and speed up.

It reacted correctly to traffic lights and remote commands and successfully overtook other vehicles, company sources said.

FAW Jiefang plans to commercialize the intelligent driving vehicle as early as 2018.

Hu Hanjie, the company’s General Manager, said the firm has built a whole industry chain partnership to develop, manufacture, sell and service self-driving trucks. The participation of more firms across the sector will accelerate the use of technology in heavy-duty vehicles, Hu said.

Leading Chinese tech firms, including Baidu and Tencent, have invested in self-driving entities. Baidu tested driverless mini cars at the annual World Internet Conference in the last two years.

Industry insiders say the technology may work better with trucks than private cars as truck drivers are more likely to suffer from fatigue while driving long distances. The new system could cut operational costs by replacing drivers.