An autonomous tractor unit will run in pilot trials between the cities of Laredo and Dallas on Interstate 35, the north-south highway that connects Texas with the state of Minnesota.

Plus says it will investigate how data from Goodyear’s “intelligent” tyre technology suite, ‘SightLine’, can enhance its ‘SuperDrive’ autonomous system.

Following shareholder approval, Plus will enter into a business combination that will generate up to USD300m in gross proceeds while also giving it access to the public financial market.

The hope is that these autonomous operations will stimulate the further expansion of fuel infrastructure for hydrogen trucks, producing a “self-reinforcing cycle of vehicle adoption, infrastructure development, and lower operational costs per unit”.

The two autonomous vehicle firms announced separate partnerships with chip designer Nvidia Corporation to integrate Nvidia products in their self-driving trucks.

Plus says it will incorporate the H.E.L.P. system in its self-driving trucks, mitigating risks in the event that a truck is rendered inoperable by a system or base vehicle issue.

Plus says it is now ready to begin the second phase of self-driving truck deployment, meaning pilots with customers in America and Europe.

‘PlusVision’ – vehicle perception software which Plus launched earlier this year – can now be procured on an Ambarella ‘CV3-AD655’ system-on-chip which, according to Plus, offers “industry-leading AI performance per watt”.

There was plenty to report from the 2024 edition of the Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo held at the Las Vegas Convention Center between May 20-23.

The partners announced that they are already testing the truck in the U.S., being the first Level 4 self-driving test on a Class 8 fuel cell electric truck to take place in the country.

Called ‘PlusProtect’, the new software uses automatic emergency braking to help the driver avoid collisions with other road users and obstacles.

PlusVision is the software that Plus uses to enable CVs installed with its vehicle autonomy systems (SAE Level 0-4) to “see” the road ahead and any other road users around them.