Photo courtesy of Vislab
Two Piaggio Porter driverless vans left Milan on Tuesday on an epic journey which will take them through Moscow, Siberia, Mongolia and the Gobi Desert to Shanghai, reports the Telegraph.
The vans, powered by electric engines and equipped with state-of-the-art computer technology, have solar panels in their roofs to power the computers.
Two technicians will travel in each van, one in the driving seat so that he can take over in an emergency.
Each van will be preceded by a “lead van” from which its computers will take cues but the object of the expedition is to test the vans’ abilities to deal with difficulties via their programming in all weather and traffic conditions. The vehicles have a top speed of 37 miles per hour and must be recharged every two to three hours.
The project has been developed by Vislab, an intelligent systems laboratory at the University of Pisa and has been funded by a grant from the Research Council of the European Commission.
The Piaggio Company itself has also sponsored the project. The vans are expected to reach Shanghai in October.
Would you like to travel in one of the vans?
