US university launches program to study safe integration of semi-autonomous trucks

The Western Transportation Institute (WTI) at Montana State University is launching a program to study how to safely integrate driverless technology into the US trucking fleet. Similar to the driverless cars being developed by Google and others, self-driving trucks would use sophisticated computers and GPS technology to navigate roadways. Within a decade, the technology is likely to be applied in semi-autonomous truck convoys, or ‘platoons’, in which trucks equipped with self-driving technology would be pro
May 26, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
The Western Transportation Institute (WTI) at Montana State University is launching a program to study how to safely integrate driverless technology into the US trucking fleet.


Similar to the driverless cars being developed by Google and others, self-driving trucks would use sophisticated computers and GPS technology to navigate roadways. Within a decade, the technology is likely to be applied in semi-autonomous truck convoys, or ‘platoons’, in which trucks equipped with self-driving technology would be programmed to follow human-piloted trucks, according to Craig Shankwitz, a senior research engineer in WTI’s Connected Vehicle Initiative.

Shankwitz is leading the new program, the Collaborative Human-Automated Platooned Trucks Alliance (CHAPTA), which will use a driving simulator at WTI to provide truck drivers with a realistic experience of using the driverless technology in a platoon setting, while allowing WTI researchers to test variables such as the spacing distance between truck units.

The project will also use WTI’s TRANSCEND test track in Lewistown, consisting of four miles of highway-like, closed-circuit roadway, which will allow WTI researchers to test actual semi-autonomous truck platoons in a controlled environment under a variety of weather conditions.

“Through the proper interaction of humans and autonomous systems, both safety and operational costs could be improved,” said Shankwitz, who is leading.

Given the rapid development of driverless technology, CHAPTA fills a need for a research and testing forum that works collaboratively with the trucking industry, regulators, law enforcement and others to ensure that the technology is safely and effectively applied, Shankwitz said.

Location Based Systems

Related Content

  • University research shows a few self-driving cars can improve traffic flow
    May 15, 2017
    The presence of just a few autonomous vehicles can eliminate the stop-and-go driving of the human drivers in traffic, along with the accident risk and fuel inefficiency it causes, according to new research by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Funded by the National Science Foundation’s Cyber-Physical Systems program, the research was led by a multi-disciplinary team of researchers with expertise in traffic flow theory, control theory, robotics, cyber-physical systems, and transportation engine
    Read More
  • In-vehicle intersection violation Warning system
    January 31, 2012
    Mike Schagrin, ITS Joint Program Office, RITA, and John Harding, NHTSA, describe US progress towards an in-vehicle Intersection Violation Warning system. In 2008, there were 37,261 fatalities on US roadways. Of these, 7,772, some 20.8 per cent of the total, were defined as intersection crashes or intersection-related crashes. Through a multi-agency research initiative led by the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) has developed a prototype In
    Read More
  • Software is at heart of safe vehicle connectivity, says Qt Group
    September 15, 2023
    Connected vehicle safety isn’t just under threat from malicious actors exploiting code – it’s also about avoiding software faults that could result in harm to people, says Patrick Shelly of Qt Group
    Read More
  • ACM to lead collaborative study on autonomous truck platooning
    September 26, 2018
    The American Center for Mobility (ACM) will lead a study which seeks to autonomously control a fleet of trucks in Colorado. The two-year project will begin at the end of 2018, followed by a second deployment in Michigan. ACM says it has worked collaboratively to identify and pool resources to help accelerate the safe deployment of autonomous controlled trucks. As part of the programme, tests will be carried out at ACM’s purpose-built facility to assess the reliability of multi-truck convoys travelli
    Read More

Highlighted Content