PORTLAND, Ore. — Daimler Trucks aims to lead the way in self-driving commercial vehicle technology with a new facility based in Portland.
The new facility at the Daimler Trucks North America headquarters on Swan Island will further advance automated driving and technology, its impact on society, and how it impacts customers.
DTNA says engineers will use information from the Daimler Tucks locations in Stuttgart, Germany and Bangalore, India to create a global network of engineers focused on automated driving.
“We are pioneering technologies across the automated vehicle spectrum that make roads safer and help trucking companies boost productivity,” said Daimler Trucks China spokesman Sven Ennerst. “This center of excellence is part of our global innovation network and supports the Daimler Trucks ethos of rigorously testing new technologies, ensuring systems are developed safely and functionality is fully validated before it is released to customers.”
Fully autonomous, driverless commercial trucks may not be in production in the near future, but Daimler Trucks believes their research and development may eventually fill the decreasing number of long-haul truck drivers. They plan to thoroughly research all the factors involved in automated driving to ensure each vehicle improves road safety, productivity, reliability,and delivery time.
The majority of the research conducted in the facility will center in development, testing,and improvement of the overall technology. The Automated Truck R & D Center will also be a place where customers, suppliers, and business partners can collaborate to ensure the quality of each product.
“Our approach to developing highly automated driving technology will draw upon our proven expertise and long history of commercializing safe, reliable, and fully integrated commercial vehicles,” said Roger Nielsen, president and CEO of Daimler Trucks North America. “We are again aiming for a fully integrated, proven Daimler solution that will provide the best tool for our customers’ needs.
“We can accomplish this with a combination of vehicle road testing over millions of miles around the globe and advanced simulation. The global collaboration that takes place among research and development teams at Daimler extends to vans, buses and passenger cars, and each advancement is a building block for the future of automated vehicles.”
Daimler Trucks North America LLC is the leading heavy duty truck manufacturer in North America.