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Truck that drives itself plays in traffic

OSHKOSH, Wis. — Sitting high in the cab of the hulking lime-green TerraMax truck, a driver can be excused for instinctively grabbing the steering wheel, according to USA Today.
There's no need. TerraMax is a self-driving vehicle, a prototype designed to navigate and obey traffic rules — all while the people inside, if there are any, do anything but drive.

During a recent test on property owned by manufacturer Oshkosh Truck, TerraMax barreled down a dusty road with its driver seat empty. It stopped at a four-way intersection and waited as staged traffic resolved before obediently lurching on its way.

If the Defense Department gets its way, vehicles like TerraMax — about as long as a typical sport-utility vehicle and almost twice as high — could represent the future of transportation for the military's ground forces.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 11:55 AM to Design , Technology | Permalink

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