As described in the video, "drivers [of the platooning trucks] continue to control the steering, and remain vigilant for any hazards in the driving environment." In what Volvo describes as "simulated real world" conditions, three Volvo VNL tractors traveled at 55 mph and were 50 ft. apart, "a closer distance than usual for on-highway tractors." Forward-looking sensors and vehicle-to-vehicle communication helps the trucks maintain speed and spacing without driver intervention. Staged and unplanned vehicle cut-ins showed how the technology handles common traffic changes.
CACC technology is an enhancement to the current Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) technology that enables closer and more accurate control of the gap between trucks with increased safety. The advanced technology that makes platooning possible is meant to serve as an aid — not a replacement — for skilled professional truck drivers, Volvo Trucks notes.
Benefits of platooning through CACC include faster responses to hard braking while maintaining safety, superior longitudinal control while following in a lane, reduced emissions, and improved traffic flow, according to Volvo Trucks.
The CACC technology being developed in conjunction with PATH has been sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation/ Federal Highway Administration Advanced Research Program and Caltrans. Other project partners include Cambridge Systematics, Inc., the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and Gateway Cities Council of Governments.
Volvo Trucks states that platooning "presents the best near-term opportunity for leveraging any level of autonomous technology for on-highway operations, where a skilled professional driver remains vitally important." The company notes it has demonstrated a fully autonomous truck working in a mining operation. Confined environments or jobs humans cannot perform remain the best and most feasible applications for fully autonomous vehicles.