Automated truck from IVECO, Plus now driving German roads

The IVECO S-Way truck, a driver-in automated truck developed by Iveco Group’s commercial brand and Plus, has started operating on public roads in Germany after a rigorous testing and validation process.

Equipped with PlusDrive, an enhanced driver-assist solution based on Plus’ open autonomy platform, the truck will collect real-world data during the public road-testing phase to prepare the project for factory production in the future.

After road tests in Germany for the next several months, Iveco and Plus plan to expand to Austria, France, Italy and Switzerland to collect data from diverse roadways and driving conditions across Europe.

The IVECO S-Way truck, a driver-in automated truck, has started road tests in Germany. (Photo: Iveco Group)

“By making trucking safer, easier and more sustainable, the new generation of powerful AI-based predictive safety technology like PlusDrive can help reduce the risk of accidents, improve fuel economy, enhance driver retention and ease truck driver shortage across Europe,” said Iveco Group CTO Marco Liccardo.

The truck’s PlusDrive installation includes advanced sensors such as lidars, radars and cameras, and the road testing will evaluate how the AI-based system handles driver-supervised maneuvers such as lane centering, cut-ins, lane merges, driver-initiated or system-suggested lane changes, traffic jam assist and nudging.

“We are proud of the hard work that the Iveco and Plus teams have poured into getting this innovative driving solution on public roads for testing,” said Shawn Kerrigan, COO and co-founder at Plus. “Some of the world’s largest fleets already use PlusDrive to deliver commercial freight. The sooner we can make this commercial product available to more fleets, the bigger impact we can have.”

Iveco said that German safety and security company TÜV SÜD also tested the functional safety of the S-Way truck for public road testing, in addition to the in-depth training that test drivers completed on the truck’s advanced safety features.