Active Testing to Drive Autonomous Truck Development Through Shared Engineering and Safety Validation Programs
EAST LIBERTY, OH – Locomation, the world’s first trucking technology platform to offer human-guided autonomous convoying, today announced a research project with the Transportation Research Center, Inc (TRC Inc), a premier testing, research, and innovation center for the automotive industry located in East Liberty, Ohio.
Locomation will actively test at TRC to advance its autonomous truck platforms alongside TRC’s extensive research and development team in order to drive further innovation on the testing and validation of Locomation’s autonomy technology. TRC has been an independent partner of the world’s leading automotive and technology companies for more than 45 years, helping them test and perfect their products.
“Locomation is proud of our leadership in the growing field of autonomous trucking and we’re confident that our partnership with TRC will get us to an even higher level,” said Locomation CEO Dr. Çetin Meriçli. “Our emphasis remains on developing, improving and perfecting our autonomous systems and TRC is a top destination to rigorously test and validate our technology. It’s a world-renowned destination and we’re excited to greatly increase our presence there.” Locomation’s research will be conducted at TRC’s new 540-acre SMARTCenter for testing advanced automotive and mobility technologies. The SMARTCenter provides high-speed straightaways and cityscape simulations, providing a variety of intersection types, roundabouts, access ramps and other navigational situations that a vehicle would encounter in everyday driving. By creating the ideal environment for autonomous vehicle and smart highway research, the SMARTCenter allows unrivaled opportunities to test their technologies in a safe, secure and repeatable real-world environment, all before these vehicles and components are rolled out onto public roads and highways.
In addition, the Locomation team and TRC’s engineering staff will work together to improve the company’s autonomous trucking platform through rigorous analyses and observations derived from TRC’s 45 years of experience with automotive testing.
“We are excited Locomation will use our state-of-the-art test facilities alongside our industry-leading team of engineers and technicians for extensive validation and verification of advanced vehicle technologies for automated driving,” said Brett Roubinek, President and CEO of TRC. Locomation is scheduled to continue testing at TRC throughout 2020 and will begin immediate work with TRC’s engineering and technical teams.
About Locomation:
Locomation is the world’s first trucking technology platform to combine autonomous driving with driver augmentation. Launched in 2018 by veterans of Carnegie Mellon’s National Robotics Engineering Center, the Locomation team includes some of the world’s foremost experts in robotics technology, safety, and artificial intelligence. Through its core technology, Autonomous Relay Convoy (ARCTM), one driver pilots a lead truck with technology augmentation while a follower truck operates in tandem through a fully autonomous system, allowing the follow driver to clock off and rest during this time. Learn more at https://locomation.ai
About Transportation Research Center:
Transportation Research Center, Inc., is North America’s largest, most advanced independent automotive testing facility and proving grounds as well as home to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s only Vehicle Research and Test Center. Located on 4,500 acres in East Liberty, Ohio, TRC provides the world’s leading vehicle manufacturers, component makers and other transportation innovators with an advanced range of engineering, research, evaluation and testing capabilities, including a new SMARTCenter research complex specifically designed for automated and connected vehicle testing and smart highway research. Learn more at https://www.trcpg.com/