Locomation and ZF collaborate on electronic steering system to improve safety of autonomous trucks

According to foreign media reports, autonomous truck startup Locomation announced a new partnership with German automotive parts supplier ZF Friedrichshafen AG to jointly develop advanced electronic steering systems to improve the safety of autonomous Class-8 trucks. According to the agreement, ZF and Locomotion will work together to develop ZF's "ReAX" steering system and test it in real-world environments.

The ReAX steering system supports Level 4 autonomous driving while minimizing energy consumption, weight and system complexity. The system combines electronic technology with fully redundant hardware to greatly improve the safety of autonomous truck deployment. Redundant hardware ensures that the system operates normally and remains safe at all times by detecting and managing failures.

(Image source: Locomation)

“We are excited to work with ZF to bring its automotive expertise to commercial vehicles to advance the safe deployment of Locomation’s autonomous truck portfolio,” said Dr. Çetin Meriçli, Co-Founder and CEO of Locomation. “Safety is the cornerstone of our services at every stage of deploying our autonomous truck technology.”

ZF, one of the world's largest auto parts suppliers, launched its ReAX electronic steering system for trucks in 2015. The system uses an electric motor mounted on a truck's conventional hydraulic power steering unit and is designed to help drivers steer the truck at lower speeds, providing additional electrical assistance to the truck's hydraulic steering system.

While the ReAX system was originally designed as a steering assist device, Locomation and ZF discovered that the system can also be used as an autonomous driving stack to control steering. When combined with a complete set of vehicle sensors and hardware developed by Locomation for autonomous driving, the ReAX system can keep the truck in the center of its lane. The ReAX system integrates electronic controls that input data from cameras, radars and other vehicles to control steering and improve safety.

Locomation was founded in 2018 by alumni of Carnegie Mellon's renowned National Robotics Engineering Center. Its team is made up of a group of world-class experts in the fields of robotics, artificial intelligence, trucking, freight optimization, and security.

Locomation plans to "redesign the world's autonomous supply chain" starting with a portfolio of autonomous truck technologies, each equipped with ZF's L4 ReAX electronic steering system. Rather than developing an autonomous truck platform that can operate each truck independently, Locomation aims to become a developer of "truck platooning technology." Locomation calls the technology Autonomous Relay Convoy (ARC), which uses two trucks, a lead truck and a follower truck, and two drivers. Both trucks are equipped with Locomation's autonomous driving system and "electronically tethered (Locomation)" so they can travel along the road together.

The lead truck is controlled by a human driver, while the follow trucks move in tandem. This allows the follow truck driver to rest while the follow truck operates in autonomous mode, and the two drivers swap positions while the lead truck driver rests. Locomation claims to be the world’s first trucking technology platform that combines AI-driven autonomy with driver augmentation to assist drivers in driving trucks.

“We are pleased to be working with Locomation on autonomous trucking technology,” said Julien Plenchette, Vice President Americas, ZF Commercial Vehicles. “Locomation’s unique and hands-on approach provides an early-to-market opportunity with human guidance at the outset, providing ZF with real-world data to enhance our technology.”

Locomation believes that this autonomous truck platooning solution is the next logical step before fully driverless trucks can operate on highways, reducing the cost of transporting goods by reducing the labor costs of the trucking industry by 50%. Not only that, autonomous trucks also reduce fuel consumption by about 8%, saving shippers a lot of money.