Self-driving semis? It’s happening

Self-driving semi trucks. Tons of trucks laden with tons of cargo barreling down the road with nothing but a computer behind the wheel. Is it a terrifying science fiction nightmare or the most obvious technological advancement in decades? Driverless car entrepreneurs are betting on the latter.

Google has already proven driver less cars can work. There are dozens of them sporting around in major cities all across the American West. But some designers and developers who worked on that program have moved on to bigger and, they think, better things. Three of these people: Anthony Levandowski, Lior Ron, and Don Burnette left Google to found Otto, a startup built on the vision of driverless interstate commerce.

In their collective minds’ eye, the trio at the heart of Otto can imagine a world in which massive trucks cruise around the country trusting sensors, lasers, and cameras to do the work while “drivers” sleep in the cab or work on other things while on the road.

The plan in the early going is for the driver and the computer to share duties. On the interstates, the computer will do the work, but once off the major arteries, the driver will navigate the tighter city streets. Proponents are selling the setup as similar to how pilots take off and land aircraft then switch over to autopilot.

Otto is in it for the long haul. Industry watchers don’t believe a viable driverless truck will become common for many years yet, and that gives the companies involved in the research and development a long time to build up public consensus. A tall order, for certain.

Most of us have had the disconcerting experience on the highways. You’re cruising along, and suddenly traffic gets tight. Glance in the sideview and rearview and all you see is semi trucks.

You’re all still at top speeds, but brake lights ahead signal a sudden slow or stop coming up fast. There’s nowhere for you to go. Now imagine the same scenarios when you look behind you, and there’s nobody in the driver’s seat. You feel that chill? From a public relations perspective, that’s what developers are up against.

Elie Hirschfeld is a seasoned real estate developer in NYC.