Iveco and Plus have revealed that the Iveco S-Way truck, featuring Plus’s PlusDrive enhanced driver-assist solution based on the company’s open autonomy platform, has begun operations on public roads within Germany.
This follows an extensive testing and validation program that saw the truck being subjected to rigorous closed-course testing. The two companies also spent time validating public road data and training test drivers.
Before the truck reached public roads, TÜV Süd conducted a test to investigate the functional safety of the concept and ensure it is suitable for public road testing. During these latest tests, Iveco and Plus will collect in-depth real-world data to prepare the driver-in automated truck for future industrialization.
The Iveco S-Way truck and its AI-based autonomous driving software are supported by an array of sensors, including lidars, radars and cameras. Furthermore, PlusDrive provides drivers with an awareness of the vehicle’s surrounding environment.
Over the next few months, testing will continue in Germany before moving to Austria, France, Italy and Switzerland to enable a diverse data set to be collected on a multitude of different road types. Further testing also aims to prove that PlusDrive can safely and automatically handle driver-supervised maneuvers such as lane centering, cut-ins, lane merges, driver-initiated or system-suggested lane changes, traffic jam assist and nudging.
“By making trucking safer, easier and more sustainable, the new generation of powerful AI-based predictive safety technology like PlusDrive can help reduce the risk of accidents, improve fuel economy, enhance driver retention and ease truck driver shortage across Europe,” explained Marco Liccardo, chief technology and digital officer at Iveco Group. “We are excited to enter this next phase of our partnership with Plus, and demonstrate the increasing maturity of our Iveco S-Way with PlusDrive through public road testing and commercial operations.”
“We are proud of the hard work that the Iveco and Plus teams have poured into getting this innovative driving solution on public roads for testing,” said Shawn Kerrigan, COO and co-founder at Plus. “Some of the world’s largest fleets already use PlusDrive to deliver commercial freight. The sooner we can make this commercial product available to more fleets, the bigger the impact we can have.”
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