The University of Memphis is leading the way for the city’s future in autonomous trucks.
U of M will receive a $750K grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for phase one of its Center for Electrified and Automated Trucking (CEAT), per an announcement from U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (TN-9). The program will be under the direction of civil engineering professor Sabya Mishra.
“Electrified vehicles are the future and it’s very encouraging that the University of Memphis will be contributing to the science that will be driving the trucking industry forward,” Cohen said in a statement.
The Center for Transportation Innovations Education and Research (C-TIER) at the university was awarded a planning grant by NSF for an Industry-University Collaborative Research Center (IUCRC) in 2022 for CEAT. The university will collaborate with Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.
When this was announced, the university said it would “apply knowledge in emerging technologies in connected, electrified and autonomous trucking and freight logistics networks for achieving efficient, safe, agile and sustainable supply chain systems.”
According to CEAT, it hopes to find solutions to driver shortage and training, driver fatigue, supply chain delays and disruptions and more.
“The automation, electrification, and connected operation of trucks can help resolve many current issues associated with the trucking industry, including driver shortage, supply-chain disruptions, delivery service delays, emissions, and road safety,” CEAT said. “As significant research efforts in vehicle automation and electrification are now enabling large commercial ventures, more focused research is needed on how freight transport and logistics providers can best utilize such technologies to modernize the trucking industry.”
When the university received the $5 million grant from NSF, Mishra said the freight transportation, supply chain, and logistic industries were seeing growth as a result of “new technological innovations,” and more, such as artificial intelligence.
These advancements not only help vehicles to function without human operation, but it could also make trucking safer and provide solutions to the country’s supply chain issue.
In his research, Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, published in tandem with Ahmadreza Talebian of Isfahan University of Technology, Mishra noted these vehicles already arrived “faster than initial expectations,” and the trucking industry could benefit from the use of this technology.
“One major user of the automated driving technology would be the trucking industry. The automated driving technology can impact the trucking industry and freight transportation system in a more revolutionary manner, compared to passenger car users,” the study said.
While the study acknowledges that these trucks would be able to surpass the US Department of Transportation’s (US DOT)’s regulations on how long a driver can drive (11 hours), this could potentially lead to increased levels in noise pollution and emissions. However they also note certain trucks “could have the same impact but probably to a lower extent” as highly automated trucks driven by a driver.
These vehicles, while seemingly helpful, prompt questions about their safety. In March, AAA released a survey which stated 66 percent of U.S. drivers expressed “fear” regarding driverless technology.
While the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said there are currently no vehicles that are officially “driverless,” they claim automation’s “biggest benefit” is safety.
“In some circumstances, automated technologies may be able to detect the threat of a crash and act faster than drivers,” NTSA said. “These technologies could greatly support drivers and reduce human errors and the resulting crashes, injuries, and economic tolls.”
