The advent of automated driving technology is poised to transform the trucking industry in the years and decades to come, but it is clear that autonomous trucks will not be ready to handle all driving tasks and conditions anytime soon.
Instead, the developers of this technology are working to build a future where drivers and automation work hand in hand to transport freight more safely and efficiently.
Exactly how that combination of human labor and automated systems will take shape remains an open question, but a number of competing concepts have been proposed.
Several technology firms and startups hope to introduce fully autonomous trucks in the near future by limiting the scope of where they can operate, leaving much of the work to drivers in conventional vehicles.