The leader of the self-driving truck is TuSimple, a company headquartered in Beijing, China and San Diego, California, and the related experimental equipment is located in Tucson, Arizona. TuSimple identified the tractor of the port terminal as the ideal initial test object of autonomous driving technology.
An easy goal to achieve
The application of autonomous driving technology in port operation is perfect in many aspects, but it mainly benefits from the closure and controlled environment of its terminal. Cargo ships load and unload goods at the port, while containers are neatly stacked together. Due to security and customs problems, the facilities at the dock are not open to the public. The corridor is very wide, so it is relatively simple to obtain a complete map of the port yard. Most importantly, the speed of various facilities is relatively slow, creating a perfect scene for self-driving cars.
TuSimple has been operating the test fleet of port self-driving tractors in China, which has attracted people's attention.
Price told Digital Trends: "It is worth noting that the port operator that dominates the world is a China company. About 70% of the ports are operated by this China enterprise, and we are actually implementing this technology in China. "
Unique technology
TuSimple is not only unique in the choice of application objects. Companies have different technical ways to achieve autonomous driving. TuSimple's technology is mainly based on camera, not lidar.
Price pointed out: "The most obvious difference between us and our competitors in solving this problem is that we decided to build a camera-centric technology instead of lidar. At present, we are using an array of 10 cameras, but this number will change constantly when we complete our solution. We use radar as an auxiliary sensor. In most cases, our camera array can provide an excellent solution for any other sensor. "
In addition, TuSimple also uses millimeter-wave radar, but the company still needs to provide excellent results through the camera array.
Price believes: "When our vision is seriously degraded, radar will become very important. Not only the camera but also the radar will not work then. Cameras are superior to lidar in three aspects. The first is the scope. For a radar system with a detection distance of 200 meters, with the increase of the distance, the probability of signal return will decrease according to the nature of the focused target. If the target is a dark object, it is likely to absorb laser energy instead of reflecting it back. "
For fast-moving trucks, detection distance is very important for safety.
TuSimple thinks there are other benefits to using cameras. For example, it is much cheaper and stronger than radar equipment.
Price told SciDev. Net: "We are very excited about the support from Arizona. Arizona gives a clear and objective definition of running in test mode and driverless cars. Their demands have not been relaxed. They are strict, but they are also objective and clear. Arizona follows the guidelines we have discussed for many years in committees and federal meetings. "
Tucson is applying the knowledge learned from port business to a wider freight industry in the future.
Price pointed out: "One of the benefits of our port business is that it teaches us how to operate vehicles at close range, which is a tight operation in a very complicated space. For truck transportation on highways, we are committed to achieving comprehensive terminal-to-terminal four-level automatic driving, which means that trucks on highways or near highways can automatically enter distribution centers and terminals. "
At present, the company is developing a pair of commercial test fleets in the United States and China. The trucking industry in China is a huge industry with more than 9 million freight companies.