VECTOR-A Vision Enhanced/Controlled Truck for Operational Research

The importance of autonomous vehicle operation to satisfy future safety and productivity requirements is emphasized by the current National plans for IVHS and AHS development and deployment.

Daimler-Benz Research, in cooperation with Freightliner Corporation, is developing a research vehicle VECTOR (Vision Enhanced/Controlled Truck for Operational Research) which currently is undergoing testing of a vision-based control system for lateral guidance. This effort is building on experience from prior Daimler-Benz and PROMETHEUS projects, including the test vehicles VITA (VIsion Technology Application) and OSCAR (Optically Steered CAR).

The paper describes this work and future expansion plans to incorporate longitudinal control systems in VECTOR.