Autonomous driving is here to transform the lumber industry

If you thought the Tesla Semi was an impressive beast of a machine, Einride’s T-Log is sure to change your mind. Imagine a powerful electric truck… Now imagine it without a driver or even a cockpit. Einride’s T-Log, built for Sweden’s billion-dollar logging industry, features a design with practically no cockpit, as the truck comes with a platform for holding the logs, and a slim front that’s all autonomous. It even ditches the windshield for a display that is only outdone by the stunning, U-shaped headlamps below.

Einride’s autonomous driving chops come powered by Nvidia’s Drive platform, and the truck is built with a cornucopia of sensors such as radars, lidars, cameras, and intelligent routing software that helps optimize its performance, enabling it to deliver at faster times, using lesser energy and conserving battery life. The 300kWh battery sitting within the T-Log can power the truck for 120 miles on a single charge.

The T-Log isn’t completely autonomous though. It comes with a manual override that lets you remotely control the truck like a drone, using Phantom Auto’s teleoperation technology, allowing experienced drivers to maneuver the truck through sticky situations from hundreds of miles away using a low-latency cellular connection. However, the lack of a human operating the truck from within proves to be highly beneficial. It cuts down the risk of human error at the wheel, allows the truck to operate 24×7 without taking mandated sleep breaks (as humans would), while the absence of a waged driver itself helps cut down on a tonne of expenses.

With its edgy, future-forward design and the ability to transport logs without manpower, Einride’s T-Log aims at creating a cost-competitive transport solution that’s high on performance and low on risk.

Designer: Einride

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