Skip to main content

Singapore to start truck platooning trials

Driverless trucks are set to be trialled on the streets of Singapore under an agreement between the country’s Singapore’s Ministry of Transport (MOT) and PSA Corporation and automotive companies Scania and Toyota Tsusho. The two companies will design, develop and test an autonomous truck platooning system for use on Singapore's public roads. The platoon will use public roads while transporting containers between port terminals in Singapore. The aim is to organise convoys of four trucks, with three au
January 10, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
Driverless trucks are set to be trialled on the streets of Singapore under an agreement between the country’s Singapore’s Ministry of Transport (MOT) and PSA Corporation and automotive companies 570 Scania and 1686 Toyota Tsusho.

The two companies will design, develop and test an autonomous truck platooning system for use on Singapore's public roads.

The platoon will use public roads while transporting containers between port terminals in Singapore. The aim is to organise convoys of four trucks, with three autonomously-driven trucks behind the lead truck, as well as to fully automate the processes for precise docking and undocking of cargo.

With vehicles in Singapore approaching one million, the initiative seeks to address the increasing travel demand and land constraints; 12 percent of Singapore’s total land is used for road and land transport infrastructure. Additionally, it faces a shortage of drivers.

It has therefore established Singapore as a “living laboratory” for new vehicle concepts that will increase productivity, road safety, optimise road capacity and enable new mobility concepts.

The truck platooning trials will take place in two phases. The first phase will focus on designing, testing and refining the truck platooning technology to adapt to local conditions. These will be conducted by Scania and Toyota at their respective research centres in Sweden and Japan, to leverage their existing development work. The second phase will consist of local trials and development of the technology in Singapore.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Dubai metro - the world's longest automated rail system
    July 31, 2012
    David Crawford reviews the recent opening of Dubai's Red Line. The US$7.6bn Dubai Metro, the Phase I Red Line of which started partial operation in September 2009, will be the world's longest driverless rail system on its planned completion in 2011. With a total length of some 75km, it will then overtake the 68.7km Vancouver SkyTrain and be able to carry over 1.2 million passengers on a typical day.
  • TRC launches smart mobility advanced research and test centre
    January 27, 2017
    The US state of Ohio and the Ohio State University are funding the US$45 million Phase 1 expansion of the Transportation Research Center's (TRC) new 540-acre SMART (Smart Mobility Advanced Research and Test) Center. To to be built within the 4,500 acres of the TRC’s independent automotive testing facility and proving grounds, SMART aims to be a hub for testing of automated and autonomous vehicles, designed to enable car manufacturers and suppliers to expand their testing. Phase 1 of the expansion will in
  • Taxi sector to lead self-driving market by 2025, say researchers
    November 24, 2016
    New findings from Juniper Research reveal that the annual production of self-driving cars will reach 14.5 million in 2025, up significantly from only a few thousands in 2020, to give a global installed base of more than 22 million consumer vehicles by 2025. The new research, Autonomous Vehicles & ADAS: Adoption, Regulation & Business Models 2016-2025, found that the market adoption of AV (Autonomous Vehicle) technology is set to accelerate over the next few years, driven by: Increasingly stringent vehicl
  • Mcity test centre for connected and driverless vehicles now open
    July 21, 2015
    The University of Michigan has opened Mcity, the world's first controlled environment specifically designed to test the potential of connected and automated vehicle technologies that will lead the way to mass-market driverless cars. Mcity was designed and developed by U-M's interdisciplinary MTC, in partnership with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT). The 32-acre simulated urban and suburban environment includes a network of roads with intersections, traffic signs and signals, streetligh