News on autonomous trucks

When autonomous vehicles are discussed, attention often goes to sensors, software, and decision-making algorithms. Those elements are essential, but they are only part of the equation. The performance of an autonomous solution also depends on the base vehicle and how it integrates with the self-driving technology.

Volvo Autonomous Solutions (V.A.S) and DSV mark the start of autonomous freight operations in Texas, with the first commercial truckload hauled using the Volvo VNL Autonomous, and with the ambition to expand to additional lanes over time.

Volvo Autonomous Solutions expands autonomous freight network and starts operations to customer endpoints in partnership with Aurora.

For the past three years, Volvo Autonomous Solutions has provided autonomous haulage for Brønnøy Kalk in Norway. With a fleet of nine fully autonomous trucks, nearly two million tonnes of limestone have been picked up, transported, and dumped into a crusher without a human behind the steering wheel.

Upgrading a mining site to autonomous transport can sound like a big step. For many customers, the first questions are practical ones. Can this work at my site? What would it require? Is it commercially viable?

Simulation plays a vital role in developing autonomous transport. It allows teams to test early, iterate quickly, and explore situations that would be difficult, impractical, or dangerous to test in the physical world.

The mustache on the Volvo FH Autonomous contains the sensor stack, the home of all the sensors which allow the truck to perceive the world around it. What started out as a fun nickname for the first design has evolved into the defining feature of our self-driving mining truck.

A 40 tonne fully loaded long-haul truck represents a significant amount of responsibility on the road. For a vehicle like the Volvo VNL Autonomous, which is developed for on-road applications without a driver in the cab, safety cannot depend on a single component or function. All safety-critical systems have to remain available, even when something fails.

Volvo Autonomous Solutions (V.A.S.) has taken the first step toward industrializing autonomous mining trucks. The first Volvo FH Autonomous has been assembled at the Volvo Buses plant in Säffle, combining world-class manufacturing expertise with cutting-edge autonomous technology.

Reliable autonomy isn’t about finding the single best sensor. Cameras, LiDAR, and radars each see the world differently, and each has its weaknesses and strengths. The real challenge is getting these different sensors to agree in real time, fusing what they see into one image. That’s how we achieve safety and productivity.