Autonomous Trucks Coming to Russian Roads This Summer

The head of Rosavtodor (Russian Federal Road Transport Agency), Roman Starovoyt, announced that the agency will begin autonomous vehicle test runs this spring and summer, local media reported.

Starovoyt noted that necessary infrastructure is being installed on the roads A-181 “Skandinavia” and “Kazan-Naberezhnye Chelny” to prepare for driverless traffic.

Rosavtodor is currently working on a project named “Karavan,” launched in 2016, to bring autonomous cars safely to Russian roads. The first run within the framework of the project is scheduled for May 2018 on a closed road.

The technology is being developed in collaboration with Russian truck manufacturer KAMAZ, a builder that has seen 15 wins by its vehicles in the brutal Dakar Rally truck category. Karavan reportedly involves Finnish specialists from the Aurora project, which specializes in automated driving and intelligent infrastructure asset management tests and trials.

Autonomous vehicle technology is on everybody's mind currently, as tech giants including Tesla, Uber and Google spearhead the move toward driverless cars. Many automobile manufacturers, including Volkswagen, BMW, Daimler, Toyota have joined the race with their advanced driver-assisted measures.

Recently however, autonomous vehicle testing took a blow in the United States, after an Uber self-driving car killed a pedestrian who crossed a multi-line road at night. Some noted, however, that the tragedy will increase efforts to improve technologies, software, sensing and vehicle safety.