According to the traffic authority, Hamburg will become Europe’s first test site for autonomous truck driving in the coming years. The port in particular is ideal for driverless trucks.
More and more goods are being transported, while at the same time fewer and fewer people want to become truck drivers – in this context, autonomous driving is becoming more and more important in the logistics sector.
The exact path for the four-year project has not yet been determined. “The corridor, yet to be defined, should lead from the motorway to the port area and to the terminal”, according to the traffic authority. The basis is a proven technology that allows for both digital communication between vehicles and communication between the road and the vehicle.
Hamburg test track not yet determined
Vehicles should drive alone and be supported by the city infrastructure. Further tests will be carried out on the motorway corridor from Rotterdam in the Netherlands to Moss in Norway, crossing four national borders and supporting terminal operations in four different northern European ports.
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The Hamburg authorities, researchers and a number of companies are involved in the test. The truck manufacturers Volvo and Daf, the shipping companies DFDS and Mærsk and the logistics company Gruber were named. Over 80 per cent of the project is funded by the EU with a grant of € 23 million. (dpa / mp)
