Japan and Finland – Finnish automated driving technology company Sensible 4 and Japanese commercial vehicle solutions provider UD Trucks partner to automate a heavy-duty truck, enabling the autonomous transportation, and dumping, of material, at a live industrial site in Japan. The project marks the beginning of a partnership between UD Trucks and Sensible 4.
Following the release of its automated driving software platform DAWN earlier this year, Sensible 4 recently announced that it is rolling out its product to the industrial segment. Sensible 4 and UD Trucks have collaborated to automate a heavy-duty vehicle at a closed industrial site in Japan. The two companies have retrofitted UD Trucks’ flagship heavy-duty Quon to enable it to operate autonomously to transport, and dump, material at one of UD’s customer sites.
“We’re excited to be a part of this groundbreaking project to deliver automated trucks to customers who need present-day solutions to address the driver shortage. Sensible 4’s software meets the positioning and environmental requirements our industrial customers demand to make self-driving operations commercially viable. The collaboration has been flexible and customised to our needs. We are very happy with the results”, says Douglas Nakano, senior vice president and chief technology officer of UD Trucks Technology.
“We’re delighted to partner with such a prestigious company. UD Trucks is a true category leader, within the commercial vehicle space, who share our passion for developing innovative technology”, says Harri Santamala, CEO of Sensible 4. He continues: “We know that industrial site operators need to reliably increase their productivity and address challenges surrounding driver shortages. Partnering with UD Trucks enables us to provide a solution to these challenges, which in turn has the potential to revolutionise mobility across the industrial segment. This project demonstrates how close we are to realising the benefit of automation within industrial sites.”
The dump truck market alone is worth up to [$25 billion (€23.52 billion)]. The growing shortage of drivers is affecting the transportation industry across the world – it’s forecast that by 2028 there will be a shortage of 280,000 truck drivers in Japan alone. The need for solutions is clear and the case for automation is intensifying. However, the outdoor industrial site is challenging for any technology; weather, sand, dust, and mud pose a multitude of technical challenges. In order for automated operations to become a reality and commercially viable, it’s essential that the technology is able to operate in all weather, cope with the demands of the industrial environment, and continue to operate in darkness and without the presence of road markings.
“This project demonstrates that DAWN is able to operate in the challenging industrial site conditions that it was designed for. The partnership with UD Trucks will enable the benefits of automation to be realised in industrial sites across the world. We are incredibly excited about what the future holds for partnership as we work together to revolutionise mobility in the industrial segment”, Santamala comments.
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