The Volvo VNL self-driving truck, which is designed and built for a specific purpose, utilizes technology from Aurora Innovation. This is the first production self-driving truck from Volvo that has been unveiled. The Volvo VNL self-driving truck combines the company’s expertise in commercial vehicles with Aurora Innovation’s advanced autonomous driving technology.
Nils Jaeger, Head of Autonomous Solutions at Volvo, stated, “We are at the forefront of a new way of transporting goods that complements and enhances transport capacity, enabling trade and social growth. This truck is the first example of our global standard autonomous technology platform, which allows us to introduce more models in the future and expand autonomous solutions to all Volvo Group truck brands, geographic regions, and use cases.”
The platform-based design approach allows Volvo to use its internally developed virtual driver for trucks and machinery working in confined environments, while leveraging the driving technology from its partners for road transport applications.
The Volvo VNL self-driving truck is designed with safety in mind. It features steering, braking, communication, computation, power management, energy storage, and vehicle motion management systems.
Shahrokh Kazemi, Chief Product Officer for Autonomous Solutions at Volvo, said, “Our platform engineering approach prioritizes safety by incorporating highly reliable add-on systems designed to reduce potential emergency situations. We built the Volvo VNL self-driving truck from the ground up and integrated these add-on systems to ensure that every critical safety component is intentionally duplicated, significantly enhancing both safety and reliability.”
The Aurora autonomous driving system combines software and diagnostic features.
Volvo and Aurora engineering teams have integrated the VNL self-driving truck with Aurora Driver, which is an SAE L4 autonomous driving system. Aurora Driver combines powerful AI software, dual computers, proprietary lidar that can detect objects over 400 meters away, high-definition cameras, imaging radar, and additional sensors, allowing the Volvo VNL self-driving truck to safely navigate its surroundings.
Sterling Anderson, co-founder and Chief Product Officer at Aurora, said, “The new Volvo VNL self-driving truck, powered by Aurora Driver, is the realization of our shared vision. It combines Aurora’s leading autonomous driving technology with the best Volvo truck, specifically designed for autonomy, making it a must-have for any transport service provider looking to strengthen and grow their business.”
Aurora has trained and tested this driver in its virtual environment, where it has driven billions of miles. It has also driven 1.5 million commercial miles on public roads, covering truck routes from start to finish on highways, rural roads, and city streets, during the day and night, in good and bad weather.
Sasko Choklov, Head of Road Solutions at Volvo Autonomous Solutions, said, “The Volvo VNL self-driving truck, powered by Aurora Driver, offers a fully integrated autonomous solution in the Hub-to-Hub sector. Our approach reduces complexity for our customers while allowing them to confidently benefit from the advantages of an autonomous solution, ensuring efficiency, safety, and reliability.”
