Truck & Off-Highway Engineering – June 2019

TRUCK & OFF-HIGHWAY ENGINEERING June 2019 21

TuSimple’s fully autonomous trucks employ more than one

type of artificial intelligence to improve decision-making.

better than neural networks. It’s more readily characterized.”
That said, anything handled by this automated software will be
checked by humans before it’s implemented into the production sys-
tem. Risk analysis and mitigation will be a major element in all au-
tonomous programs.
“We understand that errors come from AI, it’s not perfect,” Price said.
“Companies need to develop mitigation techniques that help assure
that the AI is evoking positive results within the bounds of what’s safe.”

Evolving regulatory landscape

Regardless of whether software is written by humans or AI technol-
ogy, programs will have to meet a range of different regulatory re-
quirements. Those rules also address two different aspects of driver-
less vehicles, proof of concept and full volume production.
During the current phase of proving the safety and integrity of au-
tonomous technologies, shadow drivers must be present. Some regula-
tors are now considering a change that would allow remote control of
vehicles, with humans monitoring them from afar. Eventually, humans

could be removed from this loop. However, regulatory

changes don’t come swiftly.

“Today’s regulations require a human in the vehicle,

but regulations are being rewritten to let systems sub-

stitute for the human,” Price said. “To get through that

process is the first step.”

Eliminating drivers is also beneficial if a disastrous

situation arises. Eventually, an autonomous truck will

have to make decisions, such as whether to hit a pe-

destrian or crashing into a brick wall.

“Unfortunately, it’s possible that a situation may pop

up that could be life threatening,” Price said. “If the ve-

hicle is driverless, one option would be to sacrifice the

vehicle rather than harm someone or cause greater dam-

age. If there’s a driver in the vehicle, you don’t have that

option. We like the idea of taking the driver completely

out of the vehicle for safety and efficiency reasons.”

When prototypes evolve into production vehicles,

the regulatory environment will also have to advance.

While many existing rules of the road will remain in

place, a number of new rules will have to emerge.

Regulations will have to address many facets of

driving, including breakdowns and accidents. For ex-

ample, first responders need to know that it’s safe to

step in front of an inactive autonomous vehicle that

could begin moving.

“There are a lot of practical issues to work through,”

Price said. “There must be ways to indicate that the

vehicle is in its autonomous stage, especially for first

responders who need to know how to approach the

vehicle. They need to know whether or not it’s autono-

mously operating, and how to turn it off.”

EXECUTIVE VIEWPOINTS

A new camera system from TuSimple, featuring an advanced automotive CMOS
image sensor from Sony Semiconductor, enhances night vision capabilities to
increase self-driving truck utilization from 50% to over 80%.