Electric Freightliner eCascadia Is Now Self-Driving, Just Like That One Scene From Logan

This is a world-first, by the way; having an autonomous EV semi-truck. And it’s not a concept, but rather a technology demonstrator, which means it’s fully operational and undergoing tests.

The demonstrator vehicle is based on a production Freightliner eCascadia model, and it’s been fitted with Torc Robotics’ autonomous driving software and the latest Level 4 sensor and compute technology. What’s “Level 4” again? It means this semi can operate in self-driving mode, but only within a limited area as it waits for both infrastructure and legislation to catch up with the technology.

Daimler is currently testing both an autonomous diesel-powered Cascadia, as well as this eCascadia, which features a smaller day cab configuration, meaning the sensor suite had to be packaged differently. To ensure adequate cooling, the engineering team built an advanced air-cooling concept for the compute stack from scratch, positioned between the driver and passenger seats.

Meanwhile, the in-house designed sensor bar cover, which features the cameras, LiDAR sensors and radar sensors, was built with aerodynamic performance in mind.

“Together with Torc, we are making significant progress towards introducing autonomous trucks in the U.S. by 2027,” said Daimler Truck exec, Joanna Buttler.

“While we target autonomous trucks with conventional propulsion technology for this first market launch, we always look further into the future. We will employ an iterative approach to the development, testing and optimization of autonomous-electric technology, while exploring the most promising use cases in collaboration with our fleet customers.”

As for the eCascadia, it has now reached 6 million real-world miles in over 55 fleets in the United States, since going into production back in 2022. Its battery can be recharged to 80% capacity in as little as 90 minutes, and you can choose between several battery and drive axle options – resulting in a typical range of either 155, 220 or 230 miles.

Powering this battery-electric semi is Freightliner’s proprietary Detroit ePowertrain, whereas active safety is handled by the factory-standard Detroit Assurance suite of safety system, featuring Active Brake Assist 5 technology.

What can we expect after 2027?

This self-driving eCascadia demonstrator is nothing more than a glimpse into the future as far as autonomous use cases are concerned. The first such vehicles will be employed on shorter, repeatable routes with a solid zero-emissions infrastructure. It’s worth noting that future autonomous trucks could also be powered by hydrogen-based propulsion systems.

In the meantime, don’t worry about ever encountering an eCascadia semi-truck with nobody behind the wheel in any urban or suburban area. These vehicles will only drive autonomously between freight centers along U.S. highway corridors.