HHLA announces successful test drives with automated trucks in the Port of Hamburg
In late May, practice tests were successfully carried out for the first time with a self-driving truck in regular traffic at HHLA Container Terminal Altenwerder (CTA), according to the company's release.
The goal of the Hamburg TruckPilot research project is to develop automation solutions for road transport. Specifically, it focuses on customer-specific deployment and the feasibility of integrating self-driving trucks in the container handling process at the CTA, which serves as a highly automated testing ground.
Following preparatory and test phases, practical test drives took place at the end of May in which the prototype truck, equipped with electronic automation systems, drove in the course of regular logistical operations. The project participants summed it up as a success. As part of the two-day practice tests, Spedition Weets brought 40-foot containers from Weets Logistic Center in Soltau to Hamburg on behalf of VW Group Logistics. A wide range of data for automated driving was already collected along the A7 motorway on the route to Hamburg.
The Weets driver moved to the passenger seat at the check-in gate at the entrance to Terminal Altenwerder to make way for a trained MAN safety driver. He monitored the autonomous driving functions and would take over the wheel if needed. The prototype truck carefully accelerated on its own, approached the storage block at 25 km/h, and manoeuvred the container chassis backwards into the assigned lane. The automated return trip to the check gate took place following handling of the container. The safety driver did not need to intervene a single time. The decisive step in the Hamburg TruckPilot pilot project has been successful.
The law that was recently passed by the German parliament and the Federal Council which makes deployment of autonomous driving systems possible in principle in Germany when they take place in defined areas of operation such as on routes between logistics hubs, and when they are monitored by technical supervisors.
The Hamburg TruckPilot project is part of the strategic mobility partnership between the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg and the Volkswagen Group. The project partners will present detailed results of the project at the ITS World Congress in Hamburg in October 2021.
ABOUT HHLA
Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) is one of Europe's leading logistics companies. With a tight network of seaport terminals in Hamburg, Odessa, Tallinn and Trieste, excellent hinterland connections and well-connected intermodal hubs in Central and Eastern Europe, HHLA represents a logistics and digital hub along the transport flows of the future. Its business model is based on innovative technologies and is committed to sustainability.
