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BY The Conversation

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Driverless trucks with artificial intelligence on board could dramatically change the landscape of freight shipping. A few companies have begun testing early models on some limited routes in Texas and California. Simulations of automated fleets show the potential benefits of the technology: The vehicles could improve safety, enhance fuel economy, and lessen transit times.

Truck makers and operators still have to solve some major issues, however, including how automated trucks will operate in variable weather and road conditions, and whether drivers should still be inside big rigs.

I am an engineer who studies human factors and transportation safety, and in my view, it is likely that automated trucks and human drivers will be working together for quite some time.

Benefits of automation

Fully automated trucks, which can drive on an interstate highway in good weather without human intervention, use a combination of AI, machine…