A summary report on the progress of truck platooning technology around the world

近期日本完成了“卡车后车无人列队跟驰”开放道路验证测试，藉此契机本文对列队跟驰技术在世界主要国家地区的发展历程和近期动向进行了汇总介绍，并对列队跟驰技术的发展现状和前景进行了简单评述。

Truck Platooning, also known as platoon driving, platoon driving, platoon following, platoon driving, truck train, etc., is a process in which two or more trucks communicate through vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications such as DSRC, transmit the acceleration and deceleration and other action information of the front vehicle as well as the vehicle speed and position information to the rear vehicle in real time, and use ADAS auxiliary systems such as adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, and automatic braking to automatically control the rear vehicle as a whole. They travel on the road in a close-spaced formation, which can be divided into manned platooning with a driver in the rear vehicle and unmanned platooning without a driver in the rear vehicle.

The basic technical principle of platooning is to form a platoon of adjacent vehicles in a single lane, automatically adjust the longitudinal motion state of the vehicle according to the information of adjacent vehicles, and ultimately achieve a consistent driving speed and desired geometric configuration.

The main application scenario of platoon following is on highways, because highways are closed places. Although there are many uncertain factors, they are obviously more suitable for platoon driving than national highways, provincial highways and other routes.

As the first application area of ​​autonomous driving, commercial vehicle platooning can effectively control the distance between vehicles and the driving status of the platoon, reduce wind resistance during platoon driving, and thus reduce vehicle fuel consumption. At the same time, the application of platooning will also greatly reduce the workload of drivers, improve driving safety, and reduce the operating costs of commercial vehicles.
Therefore, truck platooning technology has received attention from many countries and companies.

1. Summary of the progress of platooning and following technology in various countries around the world

With the rise of autonomous driving technology, many countries and companies have developed and tested truck platooning technology.

Early research on vehicle platooning began with the PATH project in California, USA in the 1980s. Subsequent research includes the SARTRE project in Europe, the Energy ITS project in Japan, and the GCDC project in the Netherlands, as shown in the figure.

1. United States

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) considers truck platooning as an important early application of autonomous vehicles in the freight industry. On September 20, 2016, USDOT released its Federal Automated Vehicle Policy, which will promote technology research, testing, and application, including content related to double truck platooning. The Federal Automated Vehicle Policy AV 3.0, released in 2018, also involves platooning in many places. Currently, more than 20 states in the United States have legislated to allow truck platooning on public roads.

Peloton's platooning vehicle Peloton is a startup company that specializes in truck platooning technology. In 2019, Peloton Technology Inc. released a new L4-level Automated Following solution that allows the driver to control two trucks. Peloton Automated Following is an advanced platooning system that uses V2V communication and radar active braking systems, combined with vehicle control algorithms, to enable a single driver to drive two trucks and achieve connected driving, thereby improving aerodynamics, fuel economy and safety.

Automated Following leverages experience in deploying PlatoonPro, a commercial Level 1 platooning system. The system is an SAE Level 4 autonomous driving solution that connects a fully automated following truck with a driver-controlled lead truck, allowing the two trucks to travel in a platoon. The V2V link allows the driver-driven lead truck to guide the following truck in steering, acceleration and braking, and connects the safety systems between the trucks. And there is low latency. Peloton's unique approach combines the human driver experience in the lead truck with the most advanced sensors and hardware in the following truck, greatly simplifying many of the technical challenges of deploying a standalone SAE Level 4 autonomous driving system. The solution can adapt to a variety of routes, weather conditions and traffic conditions, and scales faster than a single vehicle Level 4 solution.

Locomation platooning vehicles

In August 2020, truck technology supplier Locomation conducted a pilot program with American truck logistics company Wilson Logistics, using the ARC system for the first time to deliver commercial goods. Two Wilson Logistics trucks (with a driver in the rear truck) traveled 420 miles (about 675 kilometers) along the I-84 highway. Locomation's commercial system "Autonomous Relay Convoy" (ARC system) only requires one driver to drive the lead truck, and the following trucks follow in a fully autonomous driving mode. They are connected to each other using dedicated short-range communication (DSRC) technology.

When the ARC system is enabled, only the lead driver is actively involved in driving. The following truck is controlled by the ACR system, and its driver can hand over control of the vehicle. At this time, the following truck reaches the L4 autonomous driving level. After a set time interval, the two trucks swap positions. The second driver will take over control of the convoy, and the driver of the previous lead vehicle can hand over control.

In October 2020, Locomation announced plans to commercialize autonomous platooning trucks by 2022.

2. Japan

In its "Future Strategic Investment 2017", Japan proposed to commercialize truck platooning as early as 2022, and has been accelerating verification tests in the later period. The main relevant policies in the near future include: • Government-Private ITS Concept-Roadmap 2018 • Outline for the Preparation of Autonomous Driving Related Systems • 2nd SIP Autonomous Driving (Expansion of Systems and Services)

日本的列队跟驰技术由国家主导推动，从2016年正式展开由国土交通省和经济产业省主导的卡车编队相关业务，并于2018年1月进行了首次多品牌卡车编队测试，参与的OEM厂商包括多家商用车企业，例如日野、三菱扶桑、UD、五十铃等，丰田通商接受日本经济产业省“面向高度自动行驶系统社会实装的研究开发验证事业：卡车列队跟驰社会实装验证” （「高度な自動走行システムの社会実装に向けた研究開発・実証事業：トラックの隊列走行の社会実装に向けた実証」）项目委托，自2016年开始推进相关研究开发。

Toyota Tsusho announced on June 28, 2018 that it had realized unmanned truck platooning technology on the test road of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Ibaraki Prefecture. In January 2019, the first open road verification of unmanned truck platooning in Japan began.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan announced on March 5, 2021 that a verification test of "unmanned platooning of rear vehicles" (platooning is also known as formation driving, queue driving, etc.) was successfully carried out on some sections of Japan's New Tomei Expressway.

Japan's unmanned platooning test

SoftBank 5G platooning test

In addition, in June 2019, SoftBank successfully carried out the world's first 5G communication truck platooning verification test on the Shin-Tomei Expressway, successfully achieving automatic control of vehicle spacing.

3. South Korea

Modern platooning test

In November 2019, Hyundai Motor Company successfully conducted the company's first truck platooning test on the smart highway in Yeoju City, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, using two Xcient tractors connected to trailers.

When the rear truck approaches the lead truck, platooning mode is activated and platooning begins. Once platooning mode is activated, the rear truck maintains a distance of 16.7 meters from the front truck and makes fine adjustments in real time based on the acceleration and deceleration of the lead vehicle. The driver does not need to step on the accelerator or brake, which greatly reduces fatigue on the road and improves safety. In addition, this mode also activates lane keeping technology, allowing the driver of the rear vehicle to take their hands off the steering wheel.

With vehicle platooning technology, it is also possible to seamlessly manage other vehicles inserting or dropping in between trucks. If a vehicle suddenly inserts into a platoon of trucks, the following truck will automatically increase its distance from the leading truck to at least 25 meters. If the leading truck suddenly stops due to an unexpected situation, the technology can also slow down and stop the following truck.

4. Europe

Europe was the first region to promote the development of truck platooning technology. As early as September 2009, the European Union launched the three-year SARTRE (Safe Road Trains for the Environment) traffic improvement project, which aims to develop safe and environmentally friendly highway platooning technology, hoping to solve the three basic problems of environmental protection, safety, and traffic congestion, and at the same time encourage drivers to accept this technology from the perspective of improving driving comfort.

Since then, the European Union and industry associations have funded or promoted the truck platooning verification project, in which all OEMs have participated, as well as suppliers such as ZF. Currently, the verification project has made great progress, but Daimler has announced that it will stop developing the technology for practical benefits.

EU 2016 Truck Platooning Challenge

•The "2016 Truck Platoon Challenge" organized by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) is a group of three trucks that line up on the road. The driver of the first truck controls the vehicle, and the two trucks behind use wireless communication technology to follow the driver. The driver can let go of his hands and feet and watch the vehicle move forward automatically. The trucks drove on public roads from all over Europe to Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and displayed the truck platooning technology to the public.