Scania has collaborated with British mountain biker and Red Bull athlete Matt Jones in a stunt which saw him soar through the split-second opening between two moving self-driving trucks.
The challenge saw two of Scania’s autonomous trucks moving towards each other in perfect sync to create a window of less than a second for Jones to make the jump, culminating in a world-first.
Announcing the successful challenge, Scania said: “This feat brought together the creativity, engineering excellence and determination of teams from Scania, Red Bull and PlusAI to turn an ‘impossible’ vision into a reality.
“It was meticulously planned and executed, with advanced software development, practice sessions and safety checks taking place over several months.”
Peter Hafmar, Scania head of autonomous solutions, added: “Transport is a cornerstone of our daily lives, and with that comes enormous responsibility to get goods to the right person or company in the most safe and efficient way.
“This challenge was a glimpse of what’s possible when breakthrough autonomous technology delivers precision and safety you can count on.”
Scania, which already supplies autonomous mining trucks, said its self-driving technology will soon be moving onto highways, enabling hub-to-hub freight transport.
The manufacturer is already active on European roads with safety drivers, in partnership with the Silicon Valley based company PlusAI.
