Self-driving trucks are only one element of Scania’s autonomous transport portfolio. Autonomous Transport Solutions is a complete system from Scania that encompasses handling logistics, the assignment of tasks to vehicles, and information sharing between vehicles and infrastructure. Each transport solution is individually tailored to the customer’s needs.

With their in-built intelligence, autonomous trucks can interpret and adapt to their surroundings and carry out pre-determined tasks.

Although the first stage of development is the testing of the systems in industrial arenas such as mines and ports, they will be available for general road use in the near future. Starting in relatively controlled industrial settings gives Scania a unique opportunity to develop the systems thoroughly before they are used in more complex environments.

At Scania, we believe that self-driving vehicles will play an increasingly important role in improving the productivity and sustainability of heavy industrial operations. To explore these possibilities, we created Scania AXL, a fully autonomous concept truck without a cab, which has been designed for tough environments such as mines and large construction sites. This robust, driverless vehicle runs on renewable biofuels and is steered and monitored by an intelligent control environment.

Another concept vehicle for the near future is the Scania NXT, a self-driving battery electric urban vehicle that can be re-configured for varying urban assignments. The NXT can be a bus in the mornings and evenings, a goods delivery vehicle during the day and a refuse truck by night.