Volvo has taking its autonomous vehicle
prowess to the world of trucking and unveiled a wild self-driving electric
truck dubbed Vera. Presented to the press at a special event in Berlin, Germany,
Volvo’s special truck previews a future production model which the Swedish
automaker intends on rolling out to ports and large logistics centers.
Vera utilizes an
all-electric powertrain consisting of the same type of driveline and battery
pack used by the first electric Volvo Truck introduced earlier this year. While
Volvo hasn’t provided figures for Vera, the previous EV truck had a 185 kW
electric motor, lithium-ion battery packs between 100 and 300 kWh in capacity
and a range of up to 300 km.
One key thing that
has been confirmed about Vera is that it can be attached to any standard
trailer and pull loads of up to 32 tonnes. Volvo believes vehicles like Vera
will prove especially useful in industries with a heavy reliance on trucking
and transportation.
Vera would be
connected to a cloud service at all times and a transport control center that
keeps an eye on the vehicle, including its road position, load content, service
requirements, and other parameters. Volvo believes human drivers will remain in
control of most trucks for the foreseeable future but says “we will pretty soon
see self-drive commercial vehicles in confined areas.”
