Daimler Veers Into Maximum Overdrive

A car that drives itself may be nirvana for daily commuters, but operators of long-haul trucks could reach this plane first. At a May 6 press conference in Nevada, the U.S.’s largest heavy-duty truck manufacturer, Freightliner, unveiled a prototype 18-wheeler called the “Inspiration Truck,” the world’s first self-driving truck licensed for road tests.

The truck’s LED headlights, chain-mail grille, and mod, white-leather interior would be enough to earn it plenty of looks at a Flying J truck stop, but what sets it apart from every other semi on the road is its so-called Highway Pilot system, which uses radar sensors, cameras, and servo motors to detect objects and lane markings around the truck and take over steering, braking, and accelerating from the driver. At a nighttime unveiling atop the Hoover Dam, Wolfgang Bernhard, the global head of trucks and buses for Freightliner’s parent company, Daimler, said he expects the technology to add a “new dimension of safety.”