AutoFollow

Drivers Lead, Technology Follows

Building a Better Future for the Trucking Industry

The U.S. trucking industry is expected to see a 25.6 percent increase in freight tonnage by 2030.

Meanwhile, the current shortage of professional truck drivers is expected to top over 160,000 drivers over the next decade, seriously threatening the delivery schedules and bottom lines of American commercial fleets.

Leveraging the proven connected vehicle technology and on-highway experience forged in commercializing PlatoonPro, AutoFollow delivers real-world solutions for the trucking industry to improve the safety, efficiency, and productivity of freight transportation.

AutoFollow will empower today’s drivers with opportunities to benefit from the trucking industry’s path toward automation–furnishing them with new skills, better schedules, and additional earnings opportunities.

Doubling Driver Productivity

By combining advanced vehicle connectivity, state-of-the-art sensors and perception systems, vehicle control algorithms and machine learning with the intuition and experience of a professional driver, we're developing automated trucking solutions that will simplify and accelerate the path to commercial vehicle automation for today’s fleets.

With a skilled professional driver operating the Lead Truck in an automated platoon:

AutoFollow is less restricted by typical autonomous vehicle operating conditions and mapping requirements
A driver can safely and effectively pilot a pair of heavy trucks

How Does AutoFollow Work?

A professional driver controls the Lead Truck:

Handling steering, acceleration, and braking
Monitoring and responding to real-time road conditions

State-of-the-art platooning technology supports automated Follow Truck operation

Robust vehicle-to-vehicle connectivity between trucks enables
- Autonomous systems on board the Follow Truck to steer, brake, and accelerate using electronic signals from the human-driven lead truck
- Connected collision avoidance systems with minimal latency
Advanced sensors monitor surroundings to ensure
- Robust cut-in detection
- Dynamic lane keeping assistance
Vehicle control algorithms and machine learning allow
- Human-led, safe, autonomous operation
- Follow vehicle intelligent driving

AutoFollow Benefits

Accelerated Path to Deployment

Supports a wider set of complex operating scenarios and use cases for more deployable miles
Human driver inputs simplify many of the technical design challenges faced by those developing driverless vehicles operating on their own

Driver-Focused Design and Experience

Keeps professional drivers at the heart of trucking automation’s future
Incorporates driver feedback into the design, development, and testing of the technology

Driver Productivity

Doubles the amount of freight one driver can haul in a single trip

Safety

Builds upon active truck safety systems
Leverages human problem-solving and judgement to safely navigate dynamic on-road challenges and interact with first responders