Volvo Autonomous Solutions (V.A.S.) has officially unveiled the Volvo VNL Autonomous, marking a groundbreaking moment in the transportation industry. Presented at the ACT Expo in Las Vegas, this state-of-the-art autonomous truck combines Volvo’s commercial vehicle expertise with Aurora Innovation’s autonomous driving technology.
Nils Jaeger, President, Volvo Autonomous Solutions, highlighted the significance of this launch, stating, “We are at the forefront of a new way to transport goods, complementing and enhancing transportation capacity, and thereby enabling trade and societal growth. This truck is the first of our standardised global autonomous technology platform, which will enable us to introduce additional models in the future, bringing autonomy to all Volvo Group truck brands, and to other geographies and use cases.”
The Volvo VNL Autonomous is designed with a platform-based approach, integrating Volvo’s in-house developed virtual driver for trucks and machines operating in confined applications, and partner virtual driving technologies for on-highway trucking.
Safety is a core tenet of Volvo’s design philosophy, and the VNL Autonomous is no exception. It features redundant systems for steering, braking, communication, computation, power management, energy storage, and vehicle motion management. Shahrukh Kazmi, Chief Product Officer, Volvo Autonomous Solutions, emphasised, “Our platform engineering approach prioritizes safety by incorporating high-assurance redundancy systems designed to mitigate potential emergency situations. We built the Volvo VNL Autonomous from the ground up, integrating these redundancy systems to ensure that every safety-critical component is intentionally duplicated, thereby significantly enhancing both safety and reliability.”
The Volvo VNL Autonomous benefits from a close collaboration between Volvo and Aurora’s engineering teams, integrating the Volvo VNL Autonomous with Aurora Driver, an SAE L4 autonomous driving system. Sterling Anderson, Co-founder and Chief Product Officer, Aurora, shared, “Powered by the Aurora Driver, the new Volvo VNL Autonomous is the realization of our shared vision. This truck combines Aurora’s industry-leading self-driving technology with Volvo’s best-in-class truck, designed specifically for autonomy, making it a must-have for any transport provider that wants to strengthen and grow their business.”
The Aurora Driver has been extensively tested, accumulating over 1.5 million commercial miles on public roads and billions of miles in virtual environments, ensuring it can safely navigate diverse conditions.
Volvo’s flagship New River Valley (NRV) plant in Dublin, Virginia, will manufacture the Volvo VNL Autonomous. This facility, the largest Volvo Trucks plant globally, boasts decades of high-volume production experience, ensuring the capability to meet industry demand for the new autonomous truck.
Sasko Cuklev, Head of On-Road Solutions, Volvo Autonomous Solutions, expressed optimism about the future, “The Volvo VNL Autonomous, powered by the Aurora Driver, offers a fully integrated autonomous solution in the Hub-to-Hub segment. Our approach reduces complexity for our customers while allowing them to experience the benefits of an autonomous solution with peace of mind by ensuring efficiency, safety, and reliability.”
The introduction of the Volvo VNL Autonomous aims to address the long-standing driver shortages in the United States, enhancing freight capacity and allowing drivers to focus on routes that offer a better work-life balance. This milestone in autonomous transport reflects Volvo’s commitment to improving transportation for both customers and society at large.