Plus recently tested driverless safety maneuvers with no one in the vehicle on a closed test track in Ohio. (Plus)
Self-driving truck developer Plus recently tested a driverless tractor-trailer on a high-speed closed course with no one onboard the vehicle, marking the latest milestone in the company’s push to commercialize autonomous trucks in 2027.
The startup conducted a variety of driverless safety tests with its SuperDrive autonomous driving system installed on an International LT Series Class 8 tractor at the TRC Ohio proving grounds in East Liberty, Ohio.
The testing involved validating the virtual driver’s handling of various safety maneuvers, including pulling over to the shoulder, stopping in its lane, navigating construction zones and responding appropriately to simulated technical problems such as sensor, software and component failures, all with no human intervention.
“It was totally smooth, and it was amazing,” said Tim Daly, chief architect at Plus.
SuperDrive’s autonomous fallback system is designed to pull the vehicle to the side of the roadway or bring the truck to a slow stop in its lane when it encounters unexpected obstructions or situations where it is no longer safe for the truck to continue down the road.
“Everything we did at that test track was driven by our safety case framework,” Daly said. “It’s really the foundation of everything that we do on our road to commercial scaling.”
The company publicly announced its driverless testing milestone on April 28, the first day of the 2025 Advanced Clean Transportation Expo in Anaheim, Calif.
(Plus via YouTube)
Plus CEO David Liu said the autonomous vehicle industry is reaching an inflection point. He cited advances in artificial intelligence and computing power, along with broad regulatory support for autonomous driving technology.
“In the next couple of years, we’re pretty confident we’re going to see a lot of commercial deployment of autonomous trucks on the roads,” he said.
Plus, based in Santa Clara, Calif., plans to bring its autonomous driving technology to market through partnerships with truck manufacturers in the United States and Europe.
The company is collaborating with Traton Group’s International, Scania and MAN truck brands, as well as Iveco and Hyundai Motor Co., to pave the way for factory-built driverless trucks equipped with the SuperDrive system.
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In the meantime, Plus has been testing its autonomous driving technology on public roads in Texas and Sweden with safety drivers behind the wheel. The company said its autonomous driving system has accumulated more than 5 million miles of real-world driving experience.
This year, Plus will continue to validate its technology alongside its manufacturing partners, Liu said, but looking further ahead, the company intends to begin driver-out pilots next year, followed by a full commercial launch targeted for 2027.
