Volvo Tests Self-Driving Garbage Truck

Volvo Group and Swedish waste and recycling specialists Renova Recycling Management GmbH are testing a self-driving refuse truck in Sweden.

The pilot project, which will run through the end of 2017, uses a Volvo truck fitted with a sensor system that identifies and monitors a vehicle’s surroundings. Automated controls allow the truck to navigate a pre-programmed course and stop immediately if an object is detected in its path.

The driver walks ahead of the reversing vehicle as it moves from one garbage bin to the next one. This allows drivers to focus on refuse collection without having to climb in and out of the cab every time the truck moves to a new bin.

Volvo says the system can improve a vehicle’s fuel efficiency and enhance vehicle safety. It also can help reduce occupational injuries such as wear on knee joints caused by continually getting into and out of a vehicle.

Much of the technology used in the autonomous refuse truck also is employed in Volvo’s self-driving mine truck that was unveiled last year. That vehicle is being tested in the Kristineberg Mine in northern Sweden.