Skip to main content

Finland working on autonomous trucks

As part of the European DESERVE project, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Iveco Finland and TTS-Kehitys are developing a new software platform which will bring autonomous driving features to trucks. The truck of the future will sense nearby obstacles and possible safety risks and inform the driver. The vehicle will also monitor driving behaviour and draw the driver's attention to possible hazardous situations. TTS is implementing and testing the safety equipment development platform. A driver mo
June 19, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
As part of the European DESERVE project, 814 VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Iveco Finland and TTS-Kehitys are developing a new software platform which will bring autonomous driving features to trucks. The truck of the future will sense nearby obstacles and possible safety risks and inform the driver. The vehicle will also monitor driving behaviour and draw the driver's attention to possible hazardous situations.

TTS is implementing and testing the safety equipment development platform. A driver monitoring functionality developed by VTT based on eye tracking is also utilised. TTS will that the test results correspond to what would happen on real roads and can be applied in practice.

Iveco Finland provided a truck, with a very highly developed camera system, for the project. This is being complemented with a 360-degree camera system, three 3D cameras, nine short-range radars and three in-vehicle cameras. With these, the driver can obtain real-time information on obstacles and possible safety risks around the car. In addition, the in-vehicle cameras monitor the driver's attentiveness and driving behaviour.

The project, which began in 2012, will end in February 2016 and the first versions of the systems should be ready for installation in vehicles within two years.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Bluetooth and Wi-Fi offer new options for travel time measurements
    November 20, 2013
    New trials show Bluetooth and Wi-Fi signals can be reliably used for measuring travel times and at a lower cost than an ANPR system, but which is the better proposition depends on many factors. Measuring travel times has traditionally relied automatic number plate (or licence plate) recognition (ANPR/ALPR) cameras capturing the progress of vehicles travelling along a pre-defined route. Such systems also have the benefit of being able to count passing traffic and have become a vital tool in dealing with c
  • HeERO - harmonising e-Call across Europe
    March 1, 2013
    The second stage of the EC’s HeERO project, which aims to address some of the issues surrounding the eCall system, has just got underway. Jason Barnes reports. As the European Commission (EC)’s Har­monised eCall European Pilot (HeERO) project progresses into its second stage, ‘HeERO 2’, significant progress has already been made in addressing the technological and institutional issues relating to the pan-European deployment of an eCall system based around the new ‘112’ universal emergency telephone number.
  • Toyota proving ground tests co-operative ITS
    February 25, 2013
    Opened in November 2012, Toyota’s intelligent transportation systems (ITS) proving ground is being used to run a number of interactive tests between specially-equipped Toyota vehicles. Located at the company's Higashi-Fuji Technical Centre in Susono City, Japan, the ITS proving ground is a 3.5-hectare site that faithfully replicates a real urban environment, complete with intersecting streets, pedestrian crosswalks, and traffic signals. It is equipped with optical beacons, government-allocated 760 MHz trans
  • Automatic signal control to prevent emergency vehicle collisions?
    March 14, 2012
    Field trials under way in Arizona promise eradication of accidents between emergency vehicles at intersections – as part of a national focus on ‘intelligent signal’ infrastructure. Collisions between police cars, ambulances and fire crews as they reach intersections at the same time, with equal priority given by all signals set on red, are as serious as they sound absurd. For emergency teams and those in need of their help, the consequences are dire. The solution could come from application of connected veh