The Inspiration Truck was presented at a glamorous ceremony atop the Hoover Dam in Nevada. The world's first semi-autonomous commercial truck is a level 3 on the scale of vehicle autonomy, meaning it is on par with Google's widely hyped self-driving car.
Though this futuristic truck still requires that a driver be in the cab at all times, the new technologies it has been fitted with will facilitate that person's job in ways previously unheard of. In certain driving conditions, the driver will have the option to allow the truck to drive itself for short periods of time.
The objective is to limit stress and fatigue among drivers, who can spend as many as ten hours driving every day, thereby reducing the number of accidents on the road. By automatically controlling certain aspects of the drive, "Highway Pilot" technology also allows for a reduction in gas consumption and CO2 emissions.
The Inspiration Truck was tested over more than 10,000 miles (over 16,000 km) of road on a test circuit in Germany. The state of Nevada has granted licenses for two of these next-generation trucks to operate in the state.
