Autonomous truck collects data for Volvo’s AI-powered transport solution

Volvo is playing an important role in developing alternative solutions that will make transport more efficient, more sustainable and much safer. In addition to introducing new generation electric trucks to the market, the company is also paving the way for autonomous transport solutions. A pioneering commercial project has just been launched, as a first step towards a future automated supply chain.

Volvo Autonomous Solutions has partnered with the port of Gothenburg, Sweden, transport and logistics company DFDS, real estate company Platzer Fastigheter and port operator APM Terminals, to roll out a commercial pilot project in the port area from Gothenburg, which is the largest port in Scandinavia.

This is where a truck equipped with sensors, with a driver on board, will circulate in confined port areas, but also on public roads, in order to collect data that will be used to develop the artificial intelligence of the future autonomous system. The autonomous truck that will travel through the Arendal region of Gothenburg has 21 sensors, including radars, lidars and cameras, designed to improve visibility.

In this way, the system is able to detect objects that are nearby, as well as smaller ones, which are further away on the road. The sensors will collect data about the vehicle’s surroundings and, with the driver’s feedback on board, this information will be used to improve existing knowledge about the complex traffic situations that occur on a daily basis.

It is a question of further improving the artificial intelligence which is the basis of a future automated and connected supply system, for better security first, and for better overall efficiency.

After Gothenburg, Volvo plans to test this pioneering solution in other international ports as well, with a view to commercializing a fully autonomous transport solution.