Study Suggests , Self-Driving Trucks, Could Replace 500,000 U.S. Jobs.<br />Automotive News reports that autonomous <br />driving engineers are focusing their efforts <br />on perfecting long-haul freight. .<br />Most interstate runs lack anything more <br />complex that slow curves or E-ZPass lanes. .<br />This means that those routes <br />pose less of a challenge for engineers. .<br />Automotive News reports that the most complex challenge relates to existing infrastructure. .<br />While self-driving trucks can easily navigate <br />interstates, even short trips outside of that<br />route present complicated challenges. .<br />A University of Michigan study <br />suggests setting up a split system. .<br />Human drivers handle the shorter more complicated <br />parts of pick-up and delivery, while autonomous vehicles <br />handle the long, monotonous part of the route. .<br />This system could replace <br />almost 90% of human driving <br />in U.S. long-haul trucking. .<br />That equals approximately 500,000 jobs. .<br />The focus on autonomous trucking comes <br />amid a driver shortage that has contributed <br />to the ongoing supply chain crisis. .<br />It is happening already, <br />but in a fairly limited way. , Parth Vaishnav, University of Michigan Climate and Energy <br />assistant professor and co-author of the study, via Automotive News.<br />Among several startups, San Diego-based TuSimple plans to start autonomous deliveries to large swaths of the U.S. by the end of 2023.
