The self-driving car trend continues to grow around the world. People have been using vehicles that are capable of autonomous driving for their own personal use, they might be able to soon get it as an option for a car service provided by a company like Uber, and now they are being used for commercial shipments as well.
A trailer recently transported Budweiser beer (about 45,000 cans) 120 miles in a self-driving truck and it's claimed that this is the first commercial shipment completed by a self-driving vehicle. The only portion of the trip that a human driver took control of the wheel was when driving the truck on and off of the ramps. The package was safely delivered to its final destination at a warehouse in Colorado Springs. It was Otto (a subsidiary of Uber) which worked along with Anheuser-Busch in order to complete the shipment.
The cost for the entire shipment came to roughly $470 and a human driver was present throughout the trip in order to monitor the progress and be able to assist if necessary. It's claimed that the companies are already looking at future opportunities to collaborate given the success of the recent shipment. And they are going to be looking to use this technology in other places as well. It's reported that Otto and Anheuser-Busch sought out audience with the state of Colorado first before they ventured out to complete the drive and the state patrol is said to have monitored the trip.
The automated driving technology is an innovative approach to transportation and the Anheuser-Busch's senior director of logistics strategy, James Sembrot, has made it clear that they want to be further involved with that market space and invested in using that technology further. Perhaps the idea of autonomous shipment will bring new optimism to an industry that is said to be struggling.
Pics:
Wired
Otto / via Fortune
Simpsonsworld.com
Souces:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/2016/10/25/this-buds-for-the-robot-otto-anheuser-busch-claim-first-automated-truck-shipment/#33fe90a565de
http://fortune.com/2016/10/25/uber-anheuser-busch-first-autonomous-truck-beer-delivery/
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/10/25/driverless-beer-run-bud-makes-shipment-with-self-driving-truck.html
http://www.joc.com/trucking-logistics/truckload-freight/amid-weak-demand-trucking-hits-hiring-roadblock_20160711.html
http://icclogistics.com/trucking-jobs-decline-again-is-this-a-sign-of-an-upcoming-economic-slowdown/
I've heard talk on how big data collection and analysis from self-driving cars can adjust, improve, and update self-driving software over time.
I Am interested to see this technology develop.
Cool post!
Thanks for sharing!
A recipe for disaster... either from crashes in the early stages of development as has happened already, or the loss of good jobs,it could wipe out a sector.
Crashes are certainly a concern. I wouldn't worry about jobs though. For every job negated there is one created. Someone has to manufacture the technology, maintain it, etc. New jobs spring from the negation of old jobs.
joe did you know 'truck driver' is likely the most common job in USA, the displacement would be in fact effect one of the biggest professions ... replace with manufacture is already laughable given that is one of the most 'robotic' industries.
I personally have never met anyone in my life that was planning on making it their career goal to become a truck driver, have you? when was the last time a kid said they wanted to drive a truck? .. If you look into this profession you will see that it's becoming more difficult for them to recruit drivers, and perhaps this autonomous driving will help to meet that need If they are having difficulty finding people who want to do that job? I don't see anything wrong with a company or individuals choosing to voluntarily embrace this technology.
It is technology which has liberated us from much of the menial and hard work of the past,to the point now where people can be free now to spend their time trying to be full-time musicians, mathematicians, full-time youtubers, athletes, or fashion designers etc, rather than spending all of our day on hard labor simply trying to grow enough food for the family. Our standard of living has greatly increased because of the improvements in technology.
Maybe we should allow the robots to do the jobs that they are better at, rather than trying to compete with them, and instead we can be free to innovate and move on toward something better ? There will always be jobs that we will have an advantage over when it comes to AI, those which involve relationships, creativity, and human contact etc. so perhaps we should put attention at fostering what we are better at rather than fearing the technology and being too afraid to use it to try and make our lives better?
also a driver isn't even the top 5 for most common jobs in the USA
http://www.forbes.com/pictures/fjle45kmdj/no-5-most-common-job-registered-nurse/#111c42613368
Yeah, I know. But you won't halt technology. It's coming whether we like it or not.
Robots have to be built too. They also have to be maintained, coded, etc.
When jobs are lost to technological advances, there are other jobs being created. Sometimes you have to dig and look up the supply stream a ways to find them, but someone has to make these things happen. It's probably not a 1 for 1 exchange, but it does exist.
Truck drivers will be around for a long time. My brother-in-law drives a rig that carries acid. How soon do you think it will be before they're willing to trust that hazard to coding?
It's kind of humorous how so many futuristic stories have people driving things. The fact is, we like it. While we can accomplish tasks when we don't have to take the wheel, there are times when that's all we want to do.