Researchers look to maximize trucking industry through platooning

A professor at Louisiana State University is hoping his research on truck platooning could lead to solutions for a struggling supply chain.

Hany Hassan, assistant professor of transportation engineering in the LSU Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, is in charge of the study. According to the university, Hassan’s research focuses on “improvements to the supply chain while making traffic safety a priority using autonomous vehicles.”

Truck platooning is when trucks travel closely together connected by a computer system. The automated system communicates between the trucks to synchronize speed, acceleration and braking. While the computer will handle most of the work, human drivers are needed to steer, watch the system, and make adjustments or override the system when needed.

Hassan, and many others, feel that truck platooning could be beneficial to the transportation industry. However, he acknowledges that it also comes with challenges to other motorists.

“Imagine you are driving and there is a long platooning truck beside you,” Hassan said in a statement. “You need to take the next exit. How do you get over? This is one of the scenarios we are going to test.”

Funding for the study comes from a $183,000 grant from the Louisiana Board of Regents. The research will take part in three phases:

• Measure and evaluate the impact of platooning.
• Test driver behavior using a driving simulator.
• Survey drivers about truck platooning.

During the first phase of the study, Hassan will use a microsimulation tool called VISSIM to generate and simulate various road environments. The software then provides researchers with measurements and data to evaluate the impact of platooning.

“We are expecting this technology to help the freight movement,” Hassan said. “The main benefit of this project is trying to identify what will be the best platoon size – five or six trucks –and see if the trucks should stay in one lane or use two. Identifying the optimum platoon size and configuration is important for the freight sector to maximize its benefits on highways. This will be conducted while taking into consideration driving behaviors of other traditional vehicles that will share the road with autonomous truck platooning.”

With technology and research ramping up over the past few years, autonomous trucking is beginning to feel less like a pie-in-the-sky idea and more like an inevitability. However, Hassan says that human drivers being completely phased out is still a long way down the road.

“The project isn’t meant to take away jobs from truck drivers but increase traffic safety, since many truck drivers do get tired and fall asleep while behind the wheel,” he said. “It will take decades before we reach 100% automation. In the near future, however, we will see a mix of autonomous vehicles and real drivers.”

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration, platooning has a number of possible benefits. Platooning reduces drag, which can lead to improved fuel savings while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and overall operating costs. Additionally, platooning has the potential to increase vehicle capacity on the highways – particularly along freight corridors – maximizing road efficiency.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association has been vocal about its concerns regarding automated technology and has urged the government to require transparency from manufacturers.

“Professional drivers might be among the first to experience the technology’s shortcomings or deficiencies outside of controlled testing scenarios, potentially creating serious safety concerns for our members and the motoring public,” the Association wrote to FMCSA in 2020. “OOIDA members and millions more working in other segments of trucking face a particularly uncertain future as technology might first diminish the quality of their jobs and then threaten to displace them completely.” LL

More Louisiana news is available.