Sweden rules when it comes to autonomy
Scania is the latest in a line of Swedish truck makers to come up with an autonomous truck. Last year, Swedish startup Einride and logistics firm DB Schenker started using a cab-less electric truck called a T-pod at a DB Schenker facility in Jönköping, Sweden. It was not allowed to operate on public roads. In May this year, Einride’s T-pod drove on a public road at the same facility in Jönköping for the very first time.
Last year, at the IAA commercial vehicle exhibition in Hannover, Volvo launched Vera, its self-driving electric truck. In June this year, a Vera commenced work at a port terminal in Gothenburg, Sweden. Volvo is also running six autonomous Volvo FH trucks on a five-kilometre route at the Brønnøy Kalk AS mine in Norway.
The AXL is not Scania’s first autonomous truck rodeo. Last year, Scania and Rio Tinto began trialling a Scania XT 8×4 autonomous tipper truck in a Western Australian mine. In June this year, Scania debuted its really cool NXT concept vehicle, a battery electric self-driving vehicle that can serve as a people transporter during the day and then morph into a refuse collector at night. Just around the corner is a trial of autonomous Scania Citywide LF electric buses on regular routes in the Stockholm area, which kicks off next year.
Bold and brash
But what sets the AXL apart from these vehicles is its styling. Big, bold, brash and totally in-your-face, the AXL looks quite unlike anything we have ever seen before. The designers told us that they think it looks a little bit like a bulldog. We’re not so sure about that – maybe a bulldog sans a head. But one thing is certain: the AXL is one of the most eye-catching trucks we’ve ever seen …
And, sadly, it’s unlikely to be seen by members of the public too often. While it’s just a concept vehicle right now, the plan is obviously for it to enter series production one day (as and when the market wants it). However, it has been designed for use in mines, quarries and construction sites – so, alas, you ain’t going to see it zooming down the N3 anytime soon …
The fact that it has been designed for off-road applications is one of the reasons why it’s such a workable concept. The situation is far more controllable – the truck doesn’t have to worry about encountering Granny Mavis in her station wagon or Fido, the dog, chasing his ball while en route. Having said this, it wouldn’t just flatten the dear old duck or the sweet little dog. We witnessed a demonstration of the AXL in action – and it neatly avoided flattening a car that had been deliberately parked in its path. Also, trucks on mines, quarries and construction sites also often work on predictable and repeatable routes, where there aren’t road signs or other vehicles to worry about.
Replacing the human eye and brain
But how does the AXL work? How does it “see” where it’s going? Essentially, when they developed the vehicle, the engineers set about to replace the human eye and brain. Instead of relying on those parts of a human body, the AXL uses cameras, radar, GPS receivers, sensors and Lidar.
We had no clue what Lidar was; one of the Scania engineers kindly explained that it’s a laser-based method of detection, range finding and mapping. It uses a low-power, eye-safe pulsing laser working in conjunction with a camera. The laser illuminates a target and associated software calculates the time it takes for the laser to reflect back from the target. Sadly, we’ve probably all come across Lidar quite regularly (it’s used in police speed guns so, if you’ve been stopped by the cops, it could be thanks to Lidar). It’s also typically used in driverless vehicles – because it helps the vehicle to detect obstacles and avoid collisions.
According to Fredrich Claezon, system architect for autonomous vehicles at Scania, Lidar really works wonders. “It is vital for safe autonomous driving. We need there to be overlap between the sensors, so that one can be a backup to take over from the other if needs be. What happens if the camera and radar suggest conflicting information? Which of these sensors should we trust? With Lidar, we can obtain a better basis for decisions,” he explains.
Powered by biofuel
Rather strangely, the AXL doesn’t feature electric propulsion (which really is the norm in self-driving vehicles). Instead, it has an internal combustion engine that is powered by renewable biofuel. We asked Henrik Henriksson, Scania’s president and CEO, about this. “When it comes to mining operations, the demand from customers is still for conventional powertrains. So, the AXL can run on regular diesel or biodiesel. On the mines, there isn’t necessarily a ready supply of power. Also, the sweet spot for this vehicle could be in emerging markets where the supply of electricity may not be there. In the future, we will probably see electrification of vehicles such as the AXL – but not right now,” he responded.
So, there you have it. A behemoth like the AXL is in our future – and we don’t know whether it will be powered by diesel, biodiesel or electricity. But there’s one thing that we DO know: autonomous vehicles are coming to a mine, quarry or construction site near you!
