Automated Freight Summit: Day One

July 7, 2021 | AUVSI News

Autonomous vehicle (AV) technology holds many potential benefits, including reduced accidents and fatalities involving motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians; cost savings; decreased congestion; and environmental gains – but before these benefits can be realized, industry stakeholders must build consensus around important questions about technology, public acceptance, and regulations. 

To that end, AUVSI today hosted the first-ever Automated Freight Summit (AFS) to bring together a range of industry experts to discuss key questions related to accelerating the safe deployment of automated freight across the United States already underway. Below are top takeaways from today’s robust and substantive panel discussions. 

Technology 

Automated freight is well on its way toward widespread commercial deployment, representing an exciting application of advanced technologies within our nation’s supply chain. 

During a panel on insuring automated freight, panelists discussed how AV companies bear the responsibility of testing their systems and proving safety and risk. Fortunately, AV testing and pilot programs currently underway are demonstrating the safety and value of AV technology in a variety of use cases, including freight. 

To prepare for the decades ahead, insurers will need to consider how automated technologies that blur lines between truck owners, operators, and passengers will impact their models. Likewise, manufacturers can prepare for successful deployment of their systems by forming transparent collaborations with insurers based on open dialogue. 

Social Acceptance 

AUVSI President and CEO Brian Wynne and Finch Fulton from Locomation emphasized in their keynote dialogue that now is the time for the AV industry to address the public’s safety concerns, lest the industry risk losing opportunities to successfully deploy and integrate advanced technologies. 

During a panel on public perception of automated freight, panelists discussed the importance of contextualizing AV use cases to move the public further along the arc of acceptance. Following the height of the COVID-19 global health situation and the need to limit human contact, consumer perception has already begun to shift away from questions about the future of self-driving passenger vehicles toward questions about how they will interact with automated delivery vehicles. 

The AV industry must continue to work to communicate with the public about what they can expect when sharing the road with an AV, and that education is even more important when addressing the public’s concerns about what to expect when sharing the highway with large, automated freight trucks travelling at high speeds. 

Companies and stakeholders can also contextualize AVs for the public by showing how a pilot or test project serves a public need. AV companies that seek to first understand where transit gaps exist in communities and then safely and equitably fill those gaps with technology will build trust with the communities where they operate. 

Policy and Regulatory 

In recent years, certain states have launched testing programs that have yielded increased understanding of AV technologies and provided frameworks for advancing toward eventual integration of AVs on public streets. During a panel discussion with representatives from some of these states, panelists the importance of bringing together different perspectives – including tech developers, labor, and manufacturers – to reach consensus on AV pilot permitting, increasing accessibility, and demonstrating safety. Panelists also discussed the importance of ensuring the voices of local communities are heard so that their concerns can be addressed through education about AVs early in the process. 

AUVSI’s Automated Freight Task Force is focusing on increasing awareness of the safety benefits of AVs and automated freight, while bringing diverse audiences together to work through questions and challenges. Organizations interested in joining the Working Group can contact Jackie Beckwith at jbeckwith@auvsi.org. 

The Automated Freight Summit will continue over the next two days, with more discussions diving into safety, workforce, and policy topics. Registration is free and available here.