Scania has developed a fully autonomous concept truck, the Scania AXL, which has the company’s modular design at the heart of its design. The vehicle has been designed without the conventional driver’s cabin.
For autonomous vehicles, the software is in many ways more important than hardware. Scania AXL is steered and monitored by an intelligent control environment. In mines, for example, the autonomous operations are facilitated by a logistics system that tells the vehicle how it should perform.
Claes Erixon, head of Research and Development at Scania said, “We already have self-driving trucks in customer operations. However so far, they have been with room for a safety driver who can intervene if necessary. Scania AXL does not have a cab and that changes the game significantly.”
Scania’s president and CEO Henrik Henriksson said, “With the Scania AXL concept truck, we are taking a significant step towards the smart transport systems of the future, where self-driving vehicles will play a natural part.”
The combustion engine that powers the concept vehicle is an example of how traditional and new technology is mixed. It is advantageously powered by renewable biofuel. The first live demo of Scania AXL will take place at Traton Group’s Innovation Day, October 2, at Scania’s demo centre in Sodertalje.