Last year, Mercedes introduced autonomous Actros truck on public roads in Germany. And now, they have just been introduced into the Netherlands. Three trucks made a 600km journey from Stuttgart to Rotterdam to demonstrate their “platooning prowess”, and the ability to tightly group together on the freeway.

Platooning –  known to most as tailgating – actually saves fuels and cuts pollution up 10%, according to Mercedes. That’s because the first truck plays windbreak while the other two fall closely into its slipstream.

Now, as the trucks are autonomous, they can platoon safely because they have lightning-fast reactions supported by a slew of sensors. While it takes humans 1.4 seconds to react to the road, the Mercedes Highway Pilot Connect System takes just 0.1.

The trucks also communicate with each other over a Wi-Fi based, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication system. This widespread trend will reduce the stress and physical strain of driving for humans and open up space on the freeway.

[source: mashable]