Automated driving technology company Sensible 4 has begun commercial operations within the industrial segment using its automated driving software platform Dawn.
Dawn will be utilized in vehicles that operate in industrial environments, such as mines, factories, refineries, wood processing plants, ports and logistics centers. Released earlier in 2022, the automated driving software platform was designed to enable different types of vehicles to operate autonomously in any weather. The company is rolling out Dawn to the industrial segment, where commercial viability can be realized.
According to the company, the dump-truck market alone is worth up to US$25bn and the growing shortage of drivers is affecting the transportation industry across the world. Sensible 4 has also found that there is a 20% shortage of truck drivers in Europe, and by 2028 there will be a shortage of 280,000 truck drivers in Japan. The firm claims that an automated truck brings more flexibility and predictability to repetitive operations – pick up, drive, dump, repeat.
Sensible 4 says that an automated fleet of vehicles could enable on-demand or continuous operations while reducing operating costs and increasing productivity. Automating vehicles in this way is expected to reduce operating costs by cutting driver costs. The company reports that some operations that currently run with heavy haul trucks can replace these with a larger fleet of smaller, fuel-efficient electric trucks.
Harri Santamala, CEO of Sensible 4, said, “We know that the legislation and technology needed for automated vehicles to operate autonomously on public roads, without a safety driver on board, will still take time to establish. The key benefit of the industrial site is that it’s a closed environment, so customers can realize the benefit of our technology today. Dawn is ideally suited to the challenges of the industrial environment, where solutions have to thrive in changing and challenging weather, such as sun, rain, wind and snow. Further, our ability to operate without road markings, in daylight and darkness, enables site operators to reliably increase their productivity.
“We’re delighted to take Dawn to a live industrial site where we’ve begun automated truck operations together with a major truck manufacturer and its customer. Our automated driving software has proved its suitability and capability within the industrial site and we’ve been able to adapt it further to suit the specific needs of the customer. The future of Dawn within the industrial environment is incredibly exciting. We look forward to partnering with more customers in the industrial space.”