How soon will your mail be delivered in self driving trucks?
History has a long track record of demonstrating that when it comes to new technology it’s often, and perhaps even usually, the consumer that wins at the expense of investors.
According to a recent article in Clean Technica, the US Postal Service has commenced a Driverless pilot program between Phoenix & Dallas with TuSimple perhaps driven by the promise of more efficient fuel use and therefore lower costs.
“The US Postal Service has entered into a contract with self-driving truck startup TuSimple to haul mail between Dallas and Phoenix. It is exciting to think that before many people will ride in a robo-taxi, their mail and packages may be carried in a self-driving truck,” says TuSimple founder Xiaodi Hou. “Performing for the USPS on this pilot in this particular commercial corridor gives us specific use cases to help us validate our system and expedite the technological development and commercialization progress.”
TuSimple will complete five round trips over the next two weeks while a safety engineer and licensed driver ride along in the cab. Its Level 4 self-driving system uses 8 cameras to detect cars, pedestrians, and other obstacles up to 1,000 meters away, even in inclement weather. That compares favourably to the 300-meter range of most Lidar based systems.
According to Venture Beat, TuSimple’s camera-based system allows it to achieve three centimeter precision for truck positioning even in inclement weather and tunnels with plenty of leeway for real time decision making. By keeping aware of traffic flow far ahead, its trucks are able to maintain a given speed more consistently than human drivers and competing autonomous vehicle systems, cutting fuel consumption by as much as 15 per cent.”
Read the full article from Clean Technica here.
Roger Montgomery is the Founder and Chairman of Montgomery Investment Management. Roger has over three decades of experience in funds management and related activities, including equities analysis, equity and derivatives strategy, trading and stockbroking. Prior to establishing Montgomery, Roger held positions at Ord Minnett Jardine Fleming, BT (Australia) Limited and Merrill Lynch.
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Ben
:
Thank you for the article Roger.
While I believe that at some stage this may be a reality, I am not so sure it will happen as quickly as people would like.
Trucks become incredibly efficient as they burn fuel they become lighter, so the energy used to move declines.
Hence they become more efficient. Is it better than paying a person I don’t know that as I am not an actuary
(The same for aeroplanes )etc etc
While batteries carry the same nominal weight over a distance it does not decrease, from a weight perspective as energy is consumed and the battery weight the same less the weight of the stored energy (nominal) so the energy required is greater and the possibility that it is less efficient.
I am happy for people to engage this as I may need a lot of “stuff” explained, as left school at an early age to become a tradesman.
I do think though this could be negated through new form of technology, like composite fibre technology, (lighter and stronger than steel ,and maybe used to build truck chassis ,as well as trailers?) I do believe that’s it’s a combination of a few technologies .
I am not a shareholder of Wagners but instead of looking overseas at all this stuff have a look at this part of their business.
My Dad used to say” The gold usually buried in your own back yard”
Gravity(weight) is both our friend ,enemy. but also our bond to the earth. So we need to be looking for bigger stuff than just trying to find answers in low hanging cost cutting.
Thank you for the opportunity to express an opinion in a place that, ideas can be discussed, and spotting of opportunities ,that may make a difference not just from a dollar point of view but from a human perspective also.
Roger Montgomery
:
Solid conversation-starter and suggestions Ben.