Arrival Van demonstrates autonomous driving capability

Arrival has demonstrated its automated driving system (ADS) at a fully functioning parcel depot, for the first time.

An Arrival Van successfully maneuvered around a facility without a human driver inside the vehicle. It was able to autonomously complete all operations that are usually performed by a driver.

The electric commercial vehicle maker has been developing the autonomous driving functionality for its Arrival Van, as part of Robopilot, a project designed to improve the market knowledge, functionality, and public perception of autonomous driving systems.

The technology then can be adapted for the planned rollout of all Arrival Vehicles including the Arrival Bus and Arrival Car. 

“At Arrival, we are building supplementary technologies that will help drivers. Depot maneuvers are the most accident-prone parts of a worker’s shift and with our technology, we hope to introduce greater safety by removing human driving errors happening in confined environments,” said Max Kumskoy, head of Advanced Driver Assistance and Automated Driving Systems at Arrival.

“We are starting with a fixed controlled environment in the depot, where we are truly able to test and validate our technology. We can then understand how it will operate on public roads, in our vehicles, and how it can be implemented worldwide,” he added. 

Following the successful completion of testing and validation of Arrival’s autonomous driving system in a fixed controlled environment, the company will begin testing its autonomous driving functionalities on roads in the UK.