For the first time, Einride of Sweden is publicly showcasing its system, which allows one remote Autonomous Electric Transport (AET) operator to control multiple vehicles at a customer site.
This technology sets the precedent for a future where one remote operator can take responsibility for several self-driving Pods, monitoring them when in autonomous mode and taking active control of a vehicle for unforeseen or more complicated maneuvers, such as parking at a loading dock...
"The remote operation and oversight of autonomous vehicles requires robust real-time video and data transmission, managed through a secure channel over often insecure infrastructure. With this milestone, we are laying the technical foundation for swift and easy switching between vehicles as well as the ongoing scaling of this functionality. Not only can we switch between monitored vehicles, but also between operators in different geographical locations, increasing the flexibility of our system exponentially,” said Pär Degerman, CTO of Einride.
...many tedious or time-consuming tasks will be a thing of the past for operators, as he or she will not have to wait for loading and unloading, refueling or recharging to oversee and operate other vehicles.
The steering wheel twitches hesitantly, then as the doors click shut it spins hard over and the yuppiemobile accelerates fast. You try not to shudder. You hate the whole idea that some bored drone pusher in a remote driving centre has got your life - and half a dozen other lives - in his hands.
A couple of generations earlier, sf author Philip K. Dick describes something similar in his 1957 short story The Unreconstructed M:
Beam started slowly back toward his lab. Then, abruptly, he changed his mind and turned in the direction of the business area. When a free-wheeling cab came by, he hailed it and clambered in.
“Where to, sport?” the starter at cab relay asked. City cabs were guided by remote control from one central source.
(Read more about Philip K. Dick's remote control taxicab)
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