SLEEPING COWBOYS IN AUTONOMOUS CONVOYS
The Petersons are on vacation, cruising down the highway outside of Dallas. As they pass a long row of huge semi-trucks,
little Sally shouts,
"Dad! There are no drivers in those trucks!"
"Oh, don't worry," says Dad. "There's an AI Ghost driving the truck that you can't see, and the driver is sleeping in the back for a bit. See, honey? It says on the truck door that the driver's name is Stan."
"Dad, are you making up stories?" asks Sally.
"No, honey. See here in the lead truck there is a driver, and you can wave at him,"
Dad replies. "And his name is Rusty."
Sally waves and exclaims, "I see him, Dad!"
As the Petersons noticed, there is a new breed of cowboys like Stan across the US. He drives an 18-wheeler, calling himself a "Long Road Cowboy," along with his truck driving convoy partners like Rusty. These modern cowboys are picking up the latest autonomous convoy trucks with zero emissions and changing all the expectations out on the range.
In these hybrid long haul rigs, drivers like Stan can choose to link up behind the leader truck in a convoy and then snooze in the sleeper cab while rolling down the highway and following the leader autonomously. Who would have thought that a cowboy could make money while sleeping? With a 2,800 mile range using their Compound Electric Hybrid, they can crisscross the USA with only one or two fuel stops before waking up to the last little jog home.
Stan also brags a lot that his truck is incredibly eco-friendly. He switches to zero-emission electric-only mode when entering a city. And since these trucks use the batteries to assist going up hills and, then generate electricity going downhill to recharge the batteries, their average has been over 13MPG on biodiesel! So, his expenses have gone down considerably while making more money and in fewer days.
But even more magic comes from a phone app Stan and his trucking friends use called "Mercury Sky"! In this app, they connect with all the other Autonomous Convoy drivers in North America so they can meet up and switch up when close by each other. They can then become a follower or a leader in a new convoy on the next leg for each one's journey (or do leapfrog in the same journey). Stan prefers the lead position as much as possible since leaders get more money per mile from every follower behind you. And he has managed to average 20 hours of truck travel time per day using the Mercury Sky convoy app.
Like Stan, all the drivers switch to zero-emissions electric mode when entering a city or truck stop to link up as a convoy. Stan gets a big smile when he drives by a crowded rest stop overwhelmed with trucks parked and idling - for drivers to sleep off their rest period. But this is getting to be less frequent now as there are a good portion of trucks switching over to autonomous convoy – so they aren’t contributing to this parking problem by keeping moving - and making money! As a matter of fact, there is now a waiting list for delivery of these new trucks - as it makes so much sense to earn more money and make customers happier. And with Compound Electric Hybrid, they never do any idling either.
The other great upside for drivers is that these autonomous convoy trucks are sought after by every shipper - because the goods will get to their customers quicker. Elated customers drive everything! So, advertisements come up in the Mercury Sky app all the time from shippers looking to connect with a convoy partner to take advantage of their incredible asset. As well as truckers can search for these opportunities on Mercury Sky, so they never have to backhaul unloaded.
With increased earnings in fewer workdays from autonomous convoying, Stan is planning more family vacations and taking more time off. He is thrilled with the positive response from a recent poll taken of automotive drivers on the freeways, which shows that people appreciate the special convoy lighting used to designate autonomous follower and leader trucks. They also appreciate knowing that the leader is keeping an eye on everything behind them. This linking up is greatly enhanced by the high-tech connection that the trucks use between themselves in the convoy. For cars on the road, it is comforting to know that if anything were to go awry in a truck while in the convoy, there is always a cowboy who can get back in the saddle.