We all know this is coming.  It is actually nice to see.  We will still see manpower about but not as long haul operators slowly wearing themselves out for hours on the road.  That was never a gift.

As posted, the urban solution needs to lift personal traffdic above our heads on lightweight roads which we already do.  the short trip traffic and trucks drop or stay on the ground.  This extra dimension is not expensive and makes the whole system fast.

Again, this is plausible with automatic driving systems but far less so otherwise.  an individual will always take a load into the wrong place in simple error.

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Cabless autonomous electric truck approved for US public roads

By Paul Ridden

June 27, 2022

With NHTSA approval for driving on public roads in the bag, Einride's cabless autonomous electric Pod will begin pilot operations at a GE Appliances manufacturing facility in the US from Q3 2022

Freight technology company Einride first introduced its cabless autonomous electric T-pod truck back in 2017, which rolled on Swedish roads for the first time a couple of years later. Now the company has been given the green light for operation on public roads in the US.

A number of autonomous trucks have already rolled along public roads in US pilots, with these test vehicles having either a safety driver in the cab to take over should issues arise or having been accompanied by a mobile support team.

In what Einride claims is a first, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has approved its purpose-built autonomous electric vehicle to operate on public roads in the US, and there'll be no driver in the cab as the Einride Pod doesn't have a cab.

The battery-electric Pod makes use of an onboard sensor suite comprising cameras, radars and LiDARs and will be monitored remotely by a human operator – which the company notes is "critical in safely scaling autonomous vehicles by keeping humans in the loop and creating jobs to fulfill a future way of shipping."

The Einride Pod will haul goods between warehouses, taking in public roads and mixed traffic situations as it goes

Einride

The public road pilot is due to start in Q3 of this year, where the vehicle will merge with existing fleet operations at a GE Appliances manufacturing facility and is expected to move goods between warehouses and operate on public roads in mixed traffic.

"We are creating a more sustainable and efficient supply chain through increased electrification and automation in our manufacturing and distribution operations," said GE Appliances' VP of Supply Chain, Bill Good. "We’ve appreciated working with Einride in demonstrating how their Pod technology can help us accelerate achievement of that goal."