Automated Truck Workshop: Impact of Autonomous Trucks on the U.S. Economy

June 28-29, 2018

As a disruptive yet beneficial technology, autonomous trucks also profoundly affect the U.S. economy.

About the Workshop

About the Workshop

With funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) is leading a workshop that aims to bring together a diverse group of participants engaged in Human-Technology Frontier (HTF) projects to share their experiences on to the Effect of Autonomous Trucks on the U.S. Economy. This workshop will identify the most critical unanswered questions as well as potential solutions related to the effects autonomous trucks will have on the U.S. economy and, more specifically, how autonomous trucks will affect the current and future truck workforce.

Attendees will include a combination of invited participants and a diverse range of academics and stakeholders who will be selected based upon Position Statements (described below). Some selected participants will be offered a stipend to offset travel and lodging expenses; however, this will be minimal. Attendees should propose their Position Statement with the intention there will be no travel support. Position Statements with multiple authors are welcome, especially those representing a multidisciplinary, collaborative team, but the number of invited participants and travel support may be limited based on space and available funds.

Participants will be drawn primarily from the following disciplines engineers, computer scientists, regulators, truck drivers, truck management, economists, educators, lawyers, insurers, psychologists, and sociologists. Those who have unique perspectives on the unanswered questions or data needed to support future models are encouraged to submit a Position Statement, including engineering challenges in developing automated trucks and associated infrastructure; licensure and regulations; liability, privacy, and cyber security; education and training; and economics.

PROPOSED WORKSHOP PANEL TOPICS

  • Deployment horizon of autonomous trucks
  • Regulatory/insurance perspectives on autonomous trucks
  • Industry views on use of autonomous trucks
  • Trucking impact on US economy/driver demand
  • Convergence of autonomous trucks and human labor, job skills training/re-training challenges and strategies

Workshop Organizers

Dr. Jeff Hickman

Virginia Tech Transportation Institute

Dr. Hickman is a Group Leader at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute. His primary areas of research include community-wide (large scale) applications of behavior-based safety, self-management, and organizational culture change techniques as well as assessing driver behavior, fatigue, work/rest cycles, and driver distraction in commercial motor vehicle operations. Dr. Hickman has been the PI, Co-PI, or Project Manager on 36 research projects (totaling over $16 million). Dr. Hickman has over 100 professional presentations and 60 scientific publications and technical reports.

Agenda

Thursday, June 28

8:00 - 8:30 AM

NSF Introduction, purpose of workshop, and workshop ground rules.

8:30 - 10:05 AM

Session 1: Autonomous truck implementation scenarios and the role of the driver. The mission of this panel will be to discuss the unanswered questions and research opportunities regarding the time horizon for the full deployment of autonomous trucks as well as how and where drivers will be needed over this time horizon (from first deployment to full deployment) as drivers remain in the loop. This sets the envelope for the rest of the workshop.

  • Thought Questions
    • Which types of autonomous truck implementation scenarios are likely to occur in the future (e.g., fully autonomous truck, limited use, etc.).
    • What types of yet to be created jobs are needed under these scenarios? Think creatively, e.g., engineering studying human-computer interactions?
  • 8:30 - 9:00: Panel Presentations
    • Bill Kahn, Paccar
    • Steve Boyd, Peloton
    • Jim Yan, Navistar
    • Sanjit Seshia, University of California at Berkeley
  • 9:00 - 10:05: Discussion
    • 9:00 - 9:20: Group discussion with Panel
    • 9:20 - 10:10: Small group discussion

10:05 - 10:25 AM

Break

10:25 AM - 12:00 PM

Session 2: Regulatory/insurance perspectives on autonomous trucks. The mission of this panel will be to discuss the unanswered questions and research opportunities regarding the regulatory, insurance, and legal perspectives in the deployment of autonomous trucks (i.e., discuss how the role of each of these entities might change with the deployment of autonomous trucks).

  • Thought Questions
    • What certification processes are needed to ensure a formal safety framework or scalable verification tools to quantify safety (how safe should automated trucks be?
    • Governmental policies play a critical role in the transition to autonomous trucks without deterring technological progress. What regulatory, insurance, and/or legal perspectives will be needed as the technology matures?
    • What are the research challenges in achieving and assuring safety and verification in autonomous trucking?
  • 10:25 - 10:55: Panel Presentations
    • Rahul Mangharam, University of Pennsylvania
    • Jeff Loftus, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
    • Chris Hayes, Travelers
    • Ellen Partridge, Environmental Law and Policy Center
  • 10:55 - 12:00: Discussion
    • 10:55 - 11:15: Group discussion with Panel
    • 11:15 - 12:00: Small group discussion

12:00 - 1:15 PM

Lunch at NSF Cafeteria

1:15 - 2:50 PM

Session 3: Industry views on use of autonomous trucks in the end-to-end delivery system. The mission of this panel will be to discuss industry perspectives on the unanswered questions and research opportunities regarding the role of autonomous trucks in the delivery of goods and how the industry will adopt this technology. How does the industry view uses within what is technically and legally possible, what do they need to know better prior to deployment, etc?

  • Thought Questions
    • Given the different implementation scenarios, which types of trucking operations are likely to adopt autonomous trucks?
    • How will the organization of carrier fleets adjust to the introduction of autonomous trucks?
  • 1:15 - 1:45: Panel Presentations
    • Michael Cammisa, American Trucking Associations
    • Thomas Weakly, Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association
    • Ray Mundy, University of Missouri-St. Louis
  • 1:55 - 2:50: Discussion
    • 1:55 - 2:15: Group discussion with Panel
    • 2:15 - 2:50: Small group discussion

2:50 - 3:05 PM

Break

3:05 - 4:40 PM

Session 4: Trucking impact on US economy/driver demand. The mission of this panel will be to discuss the unanswered questions and research opportunities regarding how autonomous trucks will impact the US economy and driver demand. This panel will also discuss the interaction between autonomous trucks and infrastructure needs and what data are needed to test their theories.

  • Thought Questions
    • Given the different implementation scenarios, what are potential impacts to drivers and other workers in the delivery process during the first decades of autonomous truck implementation?
    • How will autonomous trucks influence the location choices of warehouses, distribution centers, manufacturing factories, truck stops in the future?
  • 3:05 - 3:35: Panel Presentations
    • Bob Costello, American Trucking Associations
    • Chris Caplice, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    • Mike Belzer, Wayne State University
    • Steve Burks, University of Minnesota at Morris
  • 3:35 - 4:40: Discussion
    • 3:35 - 3:55: Group discussion with Panel
    • 3:55 - 4:40: Small group discussion

4:40 - 5:00 PM

Day 1 Wrap

Friday, June 29

8:00 - 8:20 AM

Day 1 Review

8:20 - 9:55 AM

Session 5, Part 1 Convergence of autonomous trucks and human labor – enhancing the driver-truck interface and understanding skill requirements. The mission of this panel will be to discuss the unanswered questions and research opportunities regarding how autonomous trucks will converge with human truck drivers, including the role of the truck driver, how driver-truck interfaces can be better designed, and the skills needed for this integration.

  • Thought Questions
    • How can the current truck driving workforce be integrated with autonomous trucks?
    • What are the barriers to effective integration (e.g., social, technical, cultural, cognitive)?
    • How can systems be designed and engineered to enhance the driver-autonomous trucks interaction and interface?
    • What are the skills needed to build these interfaces and effectively operate within these interfaces?
  • 8:20 - 8:50: Panel Presentations
    • John Lee, University of Wisconsin
    • Richard Bishop, Bishop Consulting
    • Johan Engstrom, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute
  • 8:50 - 9:55: Discussion
    • 8:50 - 9:10: Group discussion with Panel
    • 9:10 - 9:55: Small group discussion

9:55 - 10:10 AM

Break

10:10 - 11:45 AM

Session 6, Part 2: Convergence of autonomous trucks and human labor – job skills training/re-training challenges and strategies. The mission of this panel will be to discuss the unanswered questions and research opportunities regarding how autonomous trucks will converge with human truck drivers, including, challenges and strategies in training/re-training skills, how to overcome these challenges, and what strategies will enable drivers to actively contribute to the trucking system.

  • Thought Questions
    • What skills do truck drivers have that could transfer to the new jobs identified in Session #1 and the previous session?
    • What are the cross-disciplinary research challenges in designing new curricula for reskilling? Who can contribute to developing such modules?
    • How can various groups (regulators, carriers, labor organizations, etc.) help truck drivers to reskill? Are there opportunities for public-private partnerships?
    • What strategies and techniques will allow drivers to continue to be an active and involved in the development and implementation of autonomous trucks?
  • 10:10 - 10:40: Panel Presentations
    • Steve Viscelli, University of Pennsylvania
    • Annie Lien, Industry Consulting and Advisor
    • Randy Eberts, Upjohn Institute
  • 10:40 - 11:45: Discussion
    • 10:40 - 11:00: Group discussion with Panel
    • 11:00 - 11:45: Small group discussion

11:45 AM - 12:15 PM

Final Wrap and Thank You

Presentations and Reports

Location

June 28-29, 2018

Workshop Location

NSF Headquarters
2415 Eisenhower Avenue
Alexandria, VA 22314

Workshop Hotel

Residence Inn Alexandria Old Town South at Carlyle
2345 Mill Road
Alexandria, VA 22314
703-549-1155