The aim of the Hamburg TruckPilot research project is to develop automation solutions for road transportation. Specifically, it is about the customer-specific use and integration possibilities of autonomously driving trucks in the container handling process at the CTA, which serves as a highly automated test field. Following the preparation and test phase, practical test drives took place at the end of May, during which the prototype truck equipped with electronic automation systems drove in regular logistics operations. With success, as the project participants summed up.

As part of the two-day practical tests, the forwarding company Weets brought 40-foot containers from the Weets Logistic Center in Soltau to Hamburg on behalf of VW Group Logistics. Extensive data for automated driving was already collected on the feeder trip on the A7 highway. On entering the Altenwerder terminal, the Weets driver moved to the passenger seat at the check gate and made way for a trained safety driver from MAN. The latter monitored the autonomous driving functions and was supposed to intervene and take over the driver's duties if necessary. The prototype truck carefully stepped on the gas on its own, drove to the block storage facility at 25 km/h and maneuvered the container chassis backwards into the assigned lane. After handling the containers, the truck drove back to the check gate autonomously. The safety driver did not have to intervene once. This was the decisive step in the Hamburg TruckPilot pilot project.

"We are delighted to be part of this innovative research project and to support the development of future automation solutions," says Jakob Weets, Managing Director of Spedition Weets, with regard to the potential that automated driving functions could offer in the future in terms of relieving the burden on truck drivers. Till Schlumberger, Project Manager at HHLA, is also pleased with the successful practical test: "Autonomous driving is coming. This is confirmed by the recently passed law on autonomous driving. Accordingly, we at HHLA want and need to prepare early on for the prospect of autonomous trucks picking up and delivering containers at our terminals."

Sebastian Völl, Project Manager Automated Driving at MAN Truck & Bus, adds: "Hamburg TruckPilot is an important technological milestone on the road to hub-to-hub automation." In this context, he also refers to the law recently passed by the Bundestag and Bundesrat, which basically allows the use of autonomous vehicle systems in Germany in defined operating areas, such as on routes between logistics hubs, monitored by technical supervision.

Autonomous driving functions are intended to relieve and support truck drivers in their work in the future. Further potential benefits lie in the increase in efficiency through predictive automated driving. This significantly reduces fuel consumption and can also have a positive impact on the general flow of traffic. Last but not least, the project partners expect greater safety in all areas. The Hamburg TruckPilot project is part of the strategic mobility partnership between the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg and the Volkswagen Group. The project partners will present the detailed results of the project at the ITS World Congress in Hamburg in October 2021.