Hamburger Hafen und Logistik (HHLA) has successfully completed practice tests for self-driving trucks in regular traffic at HHLA Container Terminal Altenwerder (CTA), as part of the Hamburg TruckPilot project with MAN Truck & Bus.
In a statement, the terminal operator said practical test drives took place at the end of May 2021 in which the prototype truck, equipped with electronic automation systems, drove in the course of regular logistical operations.
As part of the two-day practice tests, Spedition Weets brought 40-foot containers from Weets Logistic Center in Soltau to Hamburg on behalf of VW Group Logistics.
A wide range of data for automated driving was already collected along the A7 motorway on the route to Hamburg. The Weets driver moved to the passenger seat at the check-in gate at the entrance to Terminal Altenwerder to make way for a trained MAN safety driver.
The prototype truck carefully accelerated on its own, approached the storage block at 25 km/h, and manoeuvred the container chassis backwards into the assigned lane.
The automated return trip to the check gate took place following handling of the container. The safety driver did not need to intervene a single time and HHLA described the project so far as successful.
Till Schlumberger, project manager HHLA, said, “Autonomous driving is coming. The law on autonomous driving that was recently passed confirms it.
“At HHLA, we want to – and must – prepare ourselves at an early stage for the prospect of autonomous trucks picking up or delivering containers at our terminals.”
Sebastian Völl, project manager for automated driving at MAN Truck & Bus, added, “Hamburg TruckPilot is an important technological milestone on the road to hub-to-hub automation.”
The German parliament and the Federal Council have passed legislation to make it easier to deploy automated driving systems in industrial areas, such as logistics hubs.
