MAN has announced a new partnership with automated driving systems specialist, Plus to accelerate the deployment of autonomous trucks for hub-to-hub transport.
By deploying automated technologies, the companies aim to enhance safety and reduce accidents caused by fatigue.
In addition, this solution will help tackle the driver shortage and will make transport processes more efficient and environmentally friendly.
Lukas Walter, Head of Sales Truck at MAN Truck & Bus SE said:In the application-oriented development of autonomous trucks, project partnerships with logistics users, infrastructure operators and technology specialists are essential for MAN.
With Plus, we have gained a proven specialist for automated driving systems in commercial vehicle applications as a partner. The aim is to increasingly integrate driverless driving with practical projects in concrete hub-to-hub logistics transport and thus accelerate the series introduction of autonomous driving systems.
MAN has been developing autonomous driving solutions for several years. From 2018 to 2020, it developed and tested a driverless truck for container handling at the Port of Hamburg with Hamburger Hafen and Logistik AG.
From 2019 to 2023, it partnered with Deutsche Bahn, Hochschule Fresenius, the University of Applied Sciences, and Götting KG on the ANITA project. This project focused on the digital integration of an autonomous truck in container handling from road to rail.
Since 2022, MAN has also been working with twelve partners on the ATLAS-L4 project to develop an autonomous truck for use on motorways between logistics hubs.
Meanwhile, Plus’s Open Platform for Autonomy is already powering vehicles in commercial use. The company is a global provider of autonomous driving software solutions, including the highly automated PlusDrive and its driver-out SuperDrive.
Shawn Kerrigan, COO and CO-Founder of Plus said:We are excited to leverage our industry-leading autonomous driving software and deployment experience to accelerate the global commercialisation of driverless trucks with MAN. Through our combined expertise, we will bring to market safer, more efficient and more sustainable transportation solutions. This will transform how freight is moved.
MAN’s new partnership with Plus responds to Germany’s 2021 law on autonomous driving, which allows driverless operations on defined routes with technical supervision.
The project will include practical test drives of a prototype with a safety driver on the motorway.
From 2025, further projects in specific customer transport applications will then work towards series application.
