Partners Team Up on Self-Driving Mining Truck

Scania AB is working with Autoliv Inc. and researchers at Sweden’s KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Linkoping University as part of a government-funded program to develop a self-driving mining truck.

The partners have tested an autonomous truck at speeds as high as 55 mph and hope to launch a production model within two years. During recent tests, the prototype truck was able to avoid obstacles on the road and carry out tasks such as picking up and unloading gravel.

The size and built-in inertia of mining trucks create unique challenges for automated driving technologies, the developers note. Software algorithms also have to be more sophisticated to manage the truck’s two steering axles.

The companies plan to demonstrate the technology later this year.