Mecedes-Benz Future Truck 2025, Technology Advancements

Future Truck 2025, the concept big-rig is being showcased in September at the International Commercial Vehicles show in Hannover, Germany. It looks as slick as a truck could be, with smooth surfaces and LED lighting that disappears when parked, illuminates white under way and changes to blue when operating in autonomous mode. What the FT2025 is all about: autonomous driving. An array of radar sensors (in addition to the latest blind-spot system) scan the road and traffic around the truck to move down the highway free and easy and clear of other vehicles. That allows the driver – overworked and under-rested as they often are – to sit back and relax while the truck does the driving down the freeway.

All the while the driver gets to make the most of the interior space that looks as first-class as you could ever ask of a tractor trailer, with swiveling driver's seat, reclining passenger seat, numerous display screens, a Samsung tablet in the center console, a swoopy dashboard, curved wood flooring and ambient lighting. The autonomous driving tech isn't just theoretical, either, as Daimler has actually tested the self-driving prototype at speeds of up to 50 miles per hour down the Autobahn.

The all-important message lights up immediately after starting off: “Highway Pilot available” says the display in the instrument cluster. Using the installed map and the markings on the 3.5-metre wide motorway lane, the technology of the Mercedes-Benz Future Truck 2025 has identified the vehicle’s position on the A14 autobahn near Magdeburg. The driver switches the system on, then takes his hands off the wheel – the display confirms with “Highway Pilot active”. Nothing exciting happens as the revolutionary mode change takes place.

The semitrailer combination continues to travel at exactly the set speed, in the centre of the right-hand lane. Using the truck’s intelligent sensors and computing power, the steering carries out slight corrections by itself. The first impression: autonomous driving is amazingly unspectacular. The driver wants to relax in comfort, so he presses a button on the seat armrest: the driver’s seat immediately moves backwards, and pivots to the right by 45 degrees for a comfortable seating position. The driver is able to stretch his legs in comfort, as if sitting in an armchair at home. He is able to reach the steering wheel, but the brake pedal only by an artistic foot contortion.

No matter, the Future Truck 2025 is not driverless, the “Highway Pilot” is now doing the driving. The all-important message lights up immediately after starting off: “Highway Pilot available” says the display in the instrument cluster. Using the installed map and the markings on the 3.5-metre wide motorway lane, the technology of the Mercedes-Benz Future Truck 2025 has identified the vehicle’s position on the A14 autobahn near Magdeburg. The driver switches the system on, then takes his hands off the wheel – the display confirms with “Highway Pilot active”. Nothing exciting happens as the revolutionary mode change takes place. The semitrailer combination continues to travel at exactly the set speed, in the centre of the right-hand lane.

Using the truck’s intelligent sensors and computing power, the steering carries out slight corrections by itself. The first impression: autonomous driving is amazingly unspectacular. The driver wants to relax in comfort, so he presses a button on the seat armrest: the driver’s seat immediately moves backwards, and pivots to the right by 45 degrees for a comfortable seating position. The driver is able to stretch his legs in comfort, as if sitting in an armchair at home. He is able to reach the steering wheel, but the brake pedal only by an artistic foot contortion. No matter, the Future Truck 2025 is not driverless, the “Highway Pilot” is now doing the driving.