AI can help eliminate CV driver distraction, says Nauto

Driver distraction is one of the leading causes of road collisions, and AI could be a critical technology for overcoming it. Will Girling hears more

The road to commercialised autonomous commercial vehicles (CVs) remains uncertain. Some consider that SAE Level 4 trucks could be on the road by 2030, while others posit that technological capabilities may be stalled by the financial and regulatory realities of actually operating such vehicles.

Stefan Heck, Founder and Chief Executive of Nauto, believes the future relationship between CV drivers and artificial intelligence (AI) will be far more collaborative than exclusionary. The company claims to have developed the only real-time AI platform specifically for fleet drivers that can predict and prevent collisions linked to driver distraction. In total, Nauto estimates that its algorithms have saved some of the world’s largest commercial fleets US$300m so far.

Heck tells Automotive World that the wider transport ecosystem is not sufficiently focused on resolving driver distraction. As such, he outlines the continuing importance of AI for fleet safety, the trends that could shape its development, and how the driver experience could be fundamentally different in the 2030s.