Mercedes-Benz successfully tested self-driving autonomous trucks on A52 motorway in Germany

Mercedes has successfully completed the preliminary testing of its driverless trucks on a freeway in Germany, as part of a half a billion euros investment.

Daimler had announced last summer their intention to develop fully autonomous trucks and the maiden tests were completed this week with a resounding success.

The test drive, which was conducted on the A52 motorway near the German city of Dusseldorf, involved three autonomous trucks that ran independently in a line one after another. Each truck was carrying its own driver whose purpose was to supervise the process. As everything went well and smooth, the passive drivers had nothing to do but to adopt a completely unusual driving stance: keeping hands folded behind their heads.

The three vehicles communicated with each other via a Wi-Fi connection in order to continuously keep a distance of about 16 meters apart, while the optimum distance under normal conditions is approximately 50 meters. Daimler claims that the shortest distance between trucks reduces fuel consumption and emissions by around 7% and helps decongest traffic.