The port of Hamburg and a Munich-based lorry maker have announced they have successfully tested a driverless truck travelling in mixed traffic.

The test happened at the Hamberger Hafen und Logistik AG Container Terminal Altenwerder as part of a research project aiming to develop automation solutions for road transport, focussing on customer-specific deployment and the feasibility of integrating self-driving trucks in the container handling process at the CTA.

They say practical test drives took place at the end of May in which the prototype truck, equipped with electronic automation systems, drove in the course of regular logistical operations in a test deemed a “success”.

The plans for the future are for automated driving o provide truck drivers with both support and relief.

“This is how the future feels,” says Detlev Gosler, a driver with Emden-based freight forwarder Spedition Weets. He regularly drives his truck to HHLA Container Terminal Altenwerder in the Port of Hamburg, while Till Schlumberger, project manager at HHLA, added, “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.”

(Picture – HHLA)