Robotics & Automation News

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autonomous truck

Scania and Rio Tinto trialling autonomous truck in Western Australian mine

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Truckmaker Scania and mining giant Rio Tinto are trialling an autonomous truck in a Western Australian mine. (See video below.)

The first phase of the trial started in August 2018 and involves a Scania XT 8×4 autonomous tipper truck working separately from Dampier’s active operations.

During this initial stage, a safety driver rides in the vehicle to observe the truck’s performance and, if necessary, intervenes. In subsequent phases, additional autonomous Scania trucks will be added to develop vehicle-to-vehicle awareness and intelligent fleet supervisory controls. [Read more…] about Scania and Rio Tinto trialling autonomous truck in Western Australian mine

Groupe PSA and EasyMile test autonomous tow tractor

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Groupe PSA is trialling a TractEasy autonomous industrial tow tractor to automate part of its Sochaux plant.

TractEasy is a driverless tow tractor with a maximum towing capacity of 25 tonnes and the ability to drive among other vehicles at speeds of up to 25 km/h.

In Sochaux, the TractEasy drives up to 15km/h – the current speed limit at the facility – on a 3 km circuit and makes round trips between the supplier industrial park and the assembly shop.

[Read more…] about Groupe PSA and EasyMile test autonomous tow tractor

Suning unveils self-driving heavy-duty truck

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Suning Logistics has completed driving tests for its autonomous heavy-duty truck, which the company calls “Strolling Dragon”, in Shanghai, China.

The company says the completion marks another milestone in its plan to offer fully-automated logistics solutions.

Strolling Dragon is the largest unmanned truck in Suning Logistics’ automated fleet, boasting Level-4 self-driving capabilities; it is highly automated, and is able to operate without human input within pre-programmed parameters.  [Read more…] about Suning unveils self-driving heavy-duty truck

TuSimple to launch autonomous truck for port logistics

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A startup company called TuSimple is said to be ready to launch its autonomous truck for logistics operations at seaports in China. (See video below.)

This is according to a report in the South China Morning Post, which says the company is in talks with 10 ports in the country and is just a couple of months away from rolling out is first driverless truck at one of those ports, possibly more.

The company has already conducted debut trials at the National Intelligent Connected Vehicle Pilot Zone in Shanghai, where the port is the second-busiest in the world.

TuSimple is a Chinese company with big-name investors in the US, including chipmaker Nvidia.  [Read more…] about TuSimple to launch autonomous truck for port logistics