KAMAZ driverless trucks have been tested in the Eastern-Messoyakh oilfield in the Nenetsky region. The vehicles were driven 2,500 kilometers without accidents.
The joint project of Gazpromneft and KAMAZ was put together with support of region authorities in difficult climate conditions beyond the Polar Circle. The main target of tests was to determine the efficiency of driverless trucks, which would increase safety of cargo transportation and optimize supplies to territories with difficult access.
During the tests, the driverless trucks showed high potential to move on pre-set routes with high accuracy, to exchange information via duplicated communication systems, to recognize obstacles and forecast movements on actual environment.
The control on trucks movement around the oilfield and winter roads via Gydan tundra were conducted from dispatcher’s center in the oilfield.
According to the project’s participants, the main advantage of driverless vehicles is the unlimited ability to work. Autonomous vehicles do not get tired and do not make mistakes even in low temperatures, snowstorms and poor visibility. Compared to conventional trucks, driverless ones are 50% safer and allow reduced costs of transportation by 10-15%. Read The Article
PSR Analysis: The prospective of using driverless trucks in low-populated regions is even closer than a mass implementation of autonomous cars in megapolises. PSR
Maxim Sakov is a Market Consultant in Russia for Power Systems Research
