Daimler Trucks grabs tech company Torc Robotics
Daimler Trucks has bought a majority stake in Torc Robotics, a Blacksburg (Va) based technology company with promising expertise in automated transport solutions, for an undisclosed price. In addition to a feature-rich software platform for driving automation, Torc also offers technology for the automation of other safety-critical areas, including mining, agriculture and defense. Daimler Trucks and Torc have signed a contract that leaves Torc as an independent company, but gives Daimler extensive access to Torc’s technology.
With this technology, Daimler Trucks will soon be launching trucks that allow automated driving according to SAE Level 4. This means that the vehicles are still equipped with all control elements such as brake and steering wheel, but can drive autonomously, even over long distances and at all speeds. Automation level 3, which is currently going into production in the passenger car sector, will be skipped for trucks, said a Daimler spokesman. “We skip the intermediate step of conditionally automated driving, since the higher costs for the technologies required for this are not matched by any corresponding real-world benefits. In the transportation industry, Level 4 is the next natural step after Level 2,” the spokesman explained.
However, companies operating Level 4 vehicles cannot achieve the full financial benefit, because at this level of automation a driver still has to remain on board for safety reasons. “Highly automated trucks (SAE Level 4) are used in the initial phase on defined routes, e.g. on motorways for hub-to-hub connections. In this initial phase, one person will be in the vehicle and monitor the systems. In the future, nobody will be on board anymore, which is why highly automated driving will be of enormous benefit to our customers,” says Daimler.
The technology will be independent of the type of drive, Daimler continues. Almost five years ago, the company presented a fully electric heavy-duty truck with a usage profile that largely corresponds to the scenario presented here. However, the automation platform can also be used in vehicles with conventional powertrains.
As part of the agreements, Torc will work closely with Daimler Trucks’ developers, particularly the research and development teams of Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) in Portland, Oregon. Torc will continue to work on the development and testing of “Asimov”, its software for self-propelled vehicles. At the same time, DTNA will focus its Automated Truck Research & Development Center in Portland on further developing its technology for automated driving and vehicle integration for heavy trucks. The DTNA team is working on a truck chassis that is particularly suitable for automated driving, particularly due to the redundancy of systems needed to ensure maximum reliability and safety. In automating the trucks, Daimler will also use technologies developed for use in passenger cars at its subsidiary Mercedes Benz. This applies in particular to sensor technology.
The existing platform for Level 2 uses cameras and radar systems as sensors. The transition to Level 4 will not only increase the number of these sensors, but also use other technologies, in particular lidar, the Daimler spokesman added.
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