As I thought about Google's self-driving car [1], I realized that more than just taxicab drivers should be worried—there would be tremendous pressure from the trucking industry (and I'm not talking about the drivers here) to allow driverless trucks on the road. I'm not terribly surprised.
License plates are rarely an object of attention, but this one’s special the funky number is the giveaway. That’s why Daimler bigwig Wolfgang Bernhard and Nevada governor Brian Sandoval are sharing a stage, mugging for the phalanx of cameras, together holding the metal rectangle that will, in just a minute, be slapped onto the world’s first officially recognized self-driving truck.
The truck in question is the Freightliner Inspiration, a teched-up version of the Daimler 18-wheeler sold around the world. And according to Daimler, which owns Mercedes-Benz, it will make long-haul road transportation safer, cheaper, and better for the planet.
“There’s a clear need for this generation of trucks, and we’re the pioneers who are willing to tackle it,” says Bernhard.
Via InstaPundit [2], “The World's First Self-Driving Semi-Truck Hits the Road | WIRED [3]”
I am also reminded of Humans Need Not Apply [4], but it might be all that dire [5].
[1] http://www.google.com/about/careers/lifeatgoogle/self-driving-car-test-
[2] http://pjmedia.com/instapundit/206330/
[3] http://www.wired.com/2015/05/worlds-first-self-driving
[4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Pq-S557XQU