Self-driving cars ferry folks from place to place. They deliver food. And starting later this year, they’ll transport wood from logging sites to sawmills: Self-funded Swedish company Einride today announced the T-log, an autonomous, all-electric logging truck that’s designed to navigate hilly, winding forest roads.
At the Goodwood Festival of Speed earlier this month, Swedish tech start-up Einride revealed its latest product: The T-log, an autonomous, all-electric logging truck. More powerful than the T-pod – the all-electric, autonomous truck Einride revealed last year [see below] – the T-log incorporates some off-road capabilities and is designed to navigate forest roads.
Robert Falck, CEO of Einride, said: “Einride is constantly pushing the boundaries of autonomous and all-electric vehicles in our ambition to lead the transition to a sustainable transportation system. With the T-log, we’ve created a vehicle that can withstand the rigours of a demanding environment. It is uncharted territory for us, but also an enormous market for battery-powered AVs.”
T-log needs no driver — enables cost-effective logging transport
Powered by the Nvidia Drive self-driving platform, the T-log is capable of SEA level 4 self-driving. It has no driver’s cab but can be remote-controlled by a human operator, from hundreds of miles away using Phantom Auto teleoperation safety technology designed to provide robust, minimal latency telecommunications even with 4G. No driver’s cab enables a smaller vehicle, increased loading capacity, greater flexibility, lower production costs, lower operating costs and optimized energy consumption, allowing the T-log to run solely on batteries, even in difficult environments.
Connected to an intelligent routing software, providing it with real-time traffic data, the T-log can adjust its route to avoid congestion miles ahead. A fleet of T-logs will be coordinated by an intelligent routing system, optimizing delivery time, battery life and energy consumption, making the transport as efficient as possible.
Robert Falck added: “The driver’s cab is what makes trucks expensive to produce, and having a driver in the cabin is what makes them expensive to operate. Remove the cabin and replace the driver with an operator who can monitor and remote-control several vehicles at once and costs can be reduced significantly. In addition, operating a vehicle from a distance allows for a much better working environment, as has already been demonstrated in industries like mining.”
A safe, healthy and green alternative to diesel
Emitting no greenhouse gases or toxic nitrogen oxides, the T-log is an environmentally and health friendly alternative to diesel powered trucks. Equipped with cameras, lidars and radars, it has 360-degree awareness of its surroundings – no blind spots, no dead angles.
Robert Falck said: “Heavy road transport is responsible for a substantial part of global CO2 emissions. Add to that the tens of thousands of people who die every year from NOx pollution – effectively poisoned by diesel fumes – and you have every reason to look for a more sustainable alternative. The T-log eliminates those emissions entirely, by replacing diesel with electricity. Technology has progressed to make it happen. And because it can be done, it must be done.”
Einride hopes to introduce the T-log to public roads by 2020. The company has already registered interest from several major global companies.
T-log specifications
- Battery capacity: 300 kWh
- Carrying capacity: 16 ton
- Distance travelled on one charge: 120 miles
- Width: 2,552 m
- Height: 3,563 m
- Length: 7,338 m
Einride’s all-electric autonomous truck. ©_Einride
T-pod – the world’s first self-driving truck on public roads
Already this fall DB Schenker and Einride will install the world´s first self-driving electric transport system for heavy transports on Swedish public roads. The T-pod is self-driving too, but will be supervised by an operator which, if needed, can steer the vehicle through remote control – one operator can control several vehicles. The vehicle can load up to 20 tonnes and is capable of driving approximately 20 miles on a charge.
DB Schenker and Einride have signed an agreement regarding the transport solution of tomorrow. Once given a permit from the Swedish Transport Agency, Einride will install the first T-pod – a self-driving, electric vehicle, without drivers cab which can be remotely controlled when needed – at DB Schenker in Jönköping. The vehicle will operate the distance between two DB Schenker locations, some of which is on a public road.
“We want to participate in creating the sustainable and cost-efficient transport solution of tomorrow. The cooperation with Einride is a big step in that direction”, says Mats Grundius, CEO for Schenker AB.
“Electric and autonomous trucks are two key future technologies that will disrupt the global transport and logistics market”, says Ewald Kaiser, Member of the Board of Management Freight (COO) of DB Schenker. “We are happy that we can test a combination of these two future technologies in cooperation with Einride at such an early stage. This partnership is one part of our overall strategy to be a driver of innovative solutions and to deliver the best quality and service to our customers.”
— The cooperation gives us the possibility to create a sustainable transport solution and develop both DB Schenker and Einride for the future. The rapid development within battery technology and AI enables a great reduction of emissions, increased cost-efficiency and increased traffic safety – a future we want to be part of, says Mats Grundius.
The agreement includes the installation of one pilot, but with the option of additional pilots globally within DB Schenker.
