Automation and Electrificaton is the Future of Transport

Host and moderator of the Future of Logistics conference Lars Jensen, continued the first session of the conference by asked if automation technologies were mature enough to be deployed in current transport and logistics operations and did the industry have the trained manpower in place to deploy these technologies to the fullest?

Describing Mercedes-Benz Trucks’ future technology plans, Kay-Wolf Ahlden, President & CEO of Mercedes-Benz Trucks and Daimler Commercial Vehicles MENA, said that his company has entered into partnerships with a number of companies to develop automation technologies and some semi-automated trucks have been successfully tested in Dubai.

Daimler and Mercedes-Benz Trucks have also partnered with BP in the UK to jointly set up a network of hydrogen fuel stations.

Daimler Outlines Future Support ‘For All Who Keep the World Moving’

Mr Ahlden said another area of focus for his company was partnering with government agencies to get the legal and regulatory frameworks ready for automated and electric transport.

Automation and electrification was the dream that the trucking industry is working towards but in the near future Mr Ahlden foresees the “traditional” technologies co-existing with newer hi-tech solutions and two “will have to be managed in parallel.”

As part of its future technology strategy Mercedes-Benz Trucks was also helping customers train drivers to use digital technologies correctly and make the most out of their existing and future investments.

Read More: AI, Data Analytics will Propel Logistics into the Future: Ram Menen