Truck Platooning Barreling Ahead

Editor’s note: This is another in Driverless Transportation’s series of Q&As with leaders in the automated, autonomous and connected vehicle industry.

When it comes to connected and automated vehicles, Richard Bishop’s job is to, as he puts it, “know what’s going on, who’s doing it, and identify significant and emerging trends.” He specializes in the domain of intelligent, connected, and automated vehicles and how these interact with the roadway and transportation system, plus larger societal forces. He provides global trends analysis and research strategy development to a wide range of vehicle manufacturers, technology developers, and government agencies around the world.

He currently supports USDOT’s involvement in the Tri-Lateral Working Group on Road Vehicle Automation and also serves as chair of the American Trucking Association’s Task Force on Automated Driving and Platooning. Prior to establishing Bishop Consulting in 1997, Mr. Bishop was program manager for Vehicle-Highway Automation at the USDOT Federal Highway Administration.

You are in the thick of tests and research being conducted on truck platooning. Could you give us an overview of this?

Live tests have occurred in Texas and Nevada because they have favorable regulatory environments for truck platooning. Many other states do as well, and regulations are being adjusted in several other states as we speak. Florida just enacted new legislation calling for a truck platooning study and pilot test.

Testing has occurred in Germany with three truck platoons and Level 3 automation. In early April, several truck platoons converged on Rotterdam as part of the EU Platooning Challenge, meant to galvanize national regulators into clearing the way for platooning to gain efficiency and sustainability benefits. I expect the USA will see commercial availability of platooning as soon as next year.

Is Europe ahead of the US in platooning?

Europe is coming from a different angle. It can’t be said they’re ahead or behind. Europe-based OEMs are very advanced in platooning and they serve global markets. Regulators are coming along in terms of adjusting road rules from a prior era. I’d say the regulatory environment in the U.S. is better at this point, and the market need in the U.S. is stronger given the extremely long hauls. The EU Platooning Challenge has gained the attention of regulators in the U.S. as well. All these activities mutually support each other.

You are the chairman of the Automated Driving and Platooning Task Force of the American Trucking Associations (ATA). What are its major goals?

The objectives of the Task Force are pasted below this Q&A. The group has developed initial documents to educate users and guide technology developers, with emphasis on truck platooning since it is near-term. Visit here for more detail: TMC IR 2015-2, Automated Driving & Platooning: Issues & Opportunities; and here for a pdf on recommendations going forward: TMC Future Truck Position Paper 2015-03: Recommendations Regarding Automated Driving and Platooning Systems.

To my knowledge these are the only documents published to date that provide the “voice of the user” in truck automation. We see these as living documents which will be updated. Our current focus is to develop “Guiding Principles” for truck automation, which will be a concise set of statements as to key points.

You have also taken part in Auburn University’s test looking at the commercial feasibility of platooning. What did the school find?

The Federal Highway Administration, under its Exploratory Advanced Research program, funded this project to prototype, evaluate, and test Driver Assistive Truck Platooning (DATP), due to its potential to have significant positive safety and fuel savings benefits for heavy truck operations in long haul freight movement. The project is led by Auburn; other partners are Peloton Technology, Peterbilt Trucks, Meritor WABCO, and the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), a research organization within the American Trucking Associations Federation.

“I expect the USA will see commercial availability of platooning as soon as next year.”

We have addressed traffic impacts, platoon formation, and conducted formal fuel economy testing. Stakeholder outreach has played a vital role, working with the ATA Technology and Maintenance Council Task Force on Automated Driving and Platooning. Visit this link to see the results of Phase I of the Auburn work.

Phase II will be completed this year.

There’s been some pushback on platooning. First, some truck drivers are concerned its adoption will mean fewer drivers are needed. What do you think?

There is a misconception that platooning leaves no role for the driver. This is completely wrong. First generation platooning, in terms of driver role, is the same as current Adaptive Cruise Control — brakes/throttle are automated, and the driver steers. I recently wrote a letter to the editor of Transport Topics that explains this in detail.

Second, some consumers are wary that big rigs will bunch up, block entrance/exit lanes, and take over the roads. Are those fears legitimate?

No. Initial platooning systems will be two or three trucks. I don’t see two-truck platooning impeding anything and probably won’t even be noticed by car drivers. Three trucks might create a problem, but I see two-truck platoons being deployed first and we’ll learn from that. Remember, we are talking gaps between vehicles of 50-100 feet. This is close but not head-turning close.

Further, the gaps are dynamic and will adjust based on conditions. This could include opening up the gaps in urban areas where there are frequent entry/exits. The prime application scenario for platooning is long runs with few interchanges. In the early years we may see trucks de-couple completely when entering dense urban freeway areas and re-coupling when leaving.

Do you think driverless applications will become adopted in the commercial sector before the consumer sector?

No, it’s already happening in the consumer sector, via Tesla, the Mercedes E Class, etc. Plus, the “robo-taxi” scene is heating up fast; this is where true “driverless” will occur. The market forces are different for trucks but the applications coming on cars will eventually appear on trucks.

You are helping to plan the AUVSI/TRB Automated Vehicles Symposium in San Francisco this year. Why should someone attend the conference?

The Automated Vehicles Symposium is the largest and most significant conference worldwide focused specifically on automated vehicles. AVS uniquely brings together government, industry, and academia in a setting which includes both plenary presentations and break-out sessions, so that the larger AV community can meet and hear from one another. We are expecting over 1000 attendees this year.

Could you talk a little about the Workshop on Automated Vehicles Policy and Regulations: A State Perspective (ADD LINK) at the University of Maryland in May. Why?  

Addressing AV policy and regulation is key to the deployment of AV’s, whether it be passenger cars, trucks, and/or robo-taxi’s. I’m very involved in all three areas and am happy to offer my perspective and share knowledge, joining my colleagues in advancing the dialogue in these domains. The issues in some cases are quite different for each of these areas.

Thanks Richard.

Objectives of the ATA’s Automated Driving and Platooning Task Force

The Automated Driving and Platooning Task Force is within the Future Truck Program of the American Truck Association’s Technology and Maintenance Council. The objectives of this task force are:

1. create  awareness within TMC of all relevant activities to develop partially automated and fully automated driving systems for heavy trucks, including industry and publicly sponsored R&D, as well as relevant regulatory activity at the state and Federal levels
2. create an operational understanding of how partially and fully automated driving would be applied to heavy truck operations, considering drivers, maintenance, safety managers, fleet managers, regulators
3. define key terms relevant to automated driving so as to create mutual understanding and avoid confusion
4. identify the opportunities, new applications, key requirements, and areas of concern in the evolution of automated driving technologies.  Identify technology demonstrations the carriers would like to
5. develop a white paper, to include recommended actions that might be taken by industry and regulators
6. liaise as needed to other TMC task forces, such as the S.12 DSRC Task Force
7. develop technical policy guidance for the Technical Advisory Group, ATA Engineering department and ATA Technology and Engineering Policy committee.