The first automated semi-trailer truck started its maiden voyage Friday, October 2, on a European highway. The Daimler truck called 'Actros' is the first potentially mass-produced truck whose driver will be required only to monitor the situation, similar to the role of an airline captain while the plane is in autopilot mode.
The new 430-horsepower truck, loaded with 40 tons of cargo, slowly pulled out of the parking lot in Stuttgart, driven by the head of Daimler's trucks and buses division, Wolfgang Bernhard.
Chatting with him in the passenger seat was Winfred Kretschmann, the prime minister of Baden-Wuerttemberg, the first German state to issue a license for autonomous trailer-trucks.
Once on the highway, the driver lets the truck take over the steering, said Wolfgang Bernhard of the Daimler Trucks and Buses Division.
"If I press this button now, we are on the road and we have actually begun the world premiere," he said. "Shall we do it, prime minister? Let's do it."
Soon, the truck was self-driving down the busy A8 highway, near Stuttgart, at 80 kilometers per hour, followed by a car with cameras and, just in case, a police car.
That doesn't mean the driver can zone out, there are strict rules for the person behind the wheel, said Bernhard.
"I'm not allowed to turn around," he added. "I'm not allowed to turn to the side because I have to continue to monitor the traffic situation. But I can take my hands off the wheel and, as you can see, the steering is smooth and the vehicle remains on track."
A radar and a number of video cameras and sensors constantly monitor the road conditions. In adverse situations the truck will ask the driver to take over and, if he does not, it will automatically slow to a stop.
Daimler says its advanced trucks will relieve the drivers from the strain of driving on monotonous stretches of the road and in stop-and-go traffic jams. The company hopes necessary laws permitting such operations elsewhere could be passed before the initial goal of 2020.
Vocabulary
trailer-trucks:拖车式卡车
高考英语二轮复习精品课件:专题二语法 第6讲情态动词与虚拟语气(大纲版湖北专用)
高考英语作文素材汇总:有钱能买幸福吗 Can money buy happiness
高考英语作文素材汇总:有关父母溺爱孩子的话题作文素材
高考英语作文素材汇总:造纸厂参观有感 research paper
高考英语作文素材汇总:一封求助信 A Letter for Help
高考英语作文素材汇总:运动对我们的健康有益 sports exercise health
高考英语作文素材汇总:在欢送会上的讲话 Speech at the Send-Meeting
高考英语二轮复习精品课件:专题六 第4讲如何解答推理判断题(大纲版湖北专用)
高考英语二轮复习精品课件:专题二语法 第2讲时态与语态(大纲版湖北专用)
高考英语作文素材汇总:一个文明社会的指数 Index of a Civilized Society
高考英语二轮复习精品课件:专题四 第1讲题型解说、考查内容及走势(大纲版湖北专用)
高考英语二轮复习精品课件:专题二语法 第5讲名词性从句(大纲版湖北专用)
高考英语作文素材汇总:游览长城 Visiting the Great Wall
高考英语作文素材汇总:现代中国 Modernizing China
高考英语二轮复习精品课件:专题二语法 第4讲状语从句(大纲版湖北专用)
高考英语作文素材汇总:有礼貌与没礼貌 Good Manners and Bad Manners
高考英语二轮复习精品课件:专题六 第1讲题型解说、考查内容及走势(大纲版湖北专用)
高考英语二轮复习精品课件:专题六 第6讲理解作者的态度和意图的技巧(大纲版湖北专用)
高考英语作文素材汇总:女性在现代世界的地位 Women in the Modern World
高考英语作文素材汇总:装满吻的空盒子 An Empty Box
高考英语二轮复习精品课件:专题二语法 第7讲其他常见考点(大纲版湖北专用)
高考英语作文素材汇总:欧洲男女最爱用什么方式打发时间
高考英语作文素材汇总:骑车出游 Travel by Bike
高考英语二轮复习精品课件:专题六 第2讲如何获取中心思想(大纲版湖北专用)
高考英语作文素材汇总:培养你的兴趣 Foster Your Interests
高考英语二轮复习精品课件:专题八 第6讲应试策略与技术(大纲版湖北专用)
高考英语作文素材汇总:意外之祸 An Accident
高考英语作文素材汇总:中国的春节和西方的圣诞节 The Chinese Spring Festival and the Western Christmas
高考英语作文素材汇总:应当禁止危险运动 Dangerous Sports Should Be Banned
高考英语作文素材汇总:选择事业还是家庭 Career or Family