BaseTrack, a Moscow-based logistics startup, announced the plans to launch commercial driverless cargo transportation on the M11 highway by the end of 2021.

Nine Mercedes-Benz Actros 1845 trucks will be equipped with an unmanned control system. It is planned that the first truck will be submitted for certification to NAMI Institute in early November and will start moving along the M11 Neva highway (Moscow – St. Petersburg) in 2021. The remaining eight will be connected in the second quarter of 2022.

Initially, test engineers will be in the driver's seat of the trucks, however, the need for them will disappear in five years, according to the company. The founder of BaseTracK Andrey Vavilin expects to negotiate with one of the logistics companies to transport real cargo on a commercial basis as a contractor.

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Andrey Vavilin, the CEO of BaseTrack

An agreement on the organization of driverless transport corridor on the M11 highway was signed in June. Its creation is necessary for the transportation of goods between logistics terminals.

Original (in Russian)