Electrolux has successfully tested driverless trucks to deliver appliances from western U.S. distribution centers.
The vice president of Electrolux North America supply chain, Josh Benton, said that using driverless trucks is more efficient than using trucks that require a driver. He claims the company will benefit from autonomous trucking because they travel more than 100 millions miles each year in the U.S.
Also, not immediately but like 5-7 years from now, I think it’s feasible to see a lot more driverless delivery systems. Especially large trucks or boats.
— Spencer Martin (@Spencer_XC) November 12, 2017
Benton explains, “Our goal is to drive growth, improve service and add value to our end customers and consumers – and this is one area in which we can do just that.”
Record-breaking testing
This testing broke the world’s longest continuous autonomous trip (by truck) record. The truck traveled 306 miles.
#eldorme @realDonaldTrump elds and driverless trucks will be the end of the economy, drivers support american people, truck stops, business!
— Brock Unruh (@unruh_brock) October 30, 2017
BizJournal reported, “The test actually consisted of 2,400 miles on several trips between distribution centers in El Paso, Texas, and Ontario, California.”
During this test, there was a driver in the truck for safety reasons, he only took control of the truck when he was required to make mandatory stops like entering and leaving the interstate, and during stops for fuel.