Self-driving truck developer Plus.ai recently made an agreement with the Transportation Research Center (TRC) to conduct capability tests of Plus.ai’s self-driving system using a multi-vehicle approach.

While current standards only require a single "other" vehicle test, this new program will use a multi-vehicle approach to simulate real-world driving conditions and conduct new types of Level 4 commercial vehicle testing.

“Our team has been obsessing over every detail to build a safe and reliable self-driving system for trucks,” said Shawn Kerrigan, COO and co-founder, Plus.ai. “We believe an independent party should validate a self-driving system’s road readiness using realistic, complex scenarios, much like humans have to pass driving tests in order to be licensed. We hope this becomes a model for the testing of all automated trucks in the future.”

The safety tests were designed by TRC, which has nearly 50 years of experience testing new products for automotive and technology companies. The testing will evaluate the Plus.ai self-driving system’s ability to consistently handle multiple vehicle scenarios, like predicting how the vehicles will react to each other to plan a safe way to control the truck in response. This will test the perception, prediction, and planning systems, involving aspects that would not be tested in a single-vehicle approach. Tests will include highway driving in both free-flowing and stop-and-go traffic, construction zones, disabled vehicles, bicycles, and many other scenarios, which will be repeated for different weather conditions and a range of visibility and lighting.

“We are excited to welcome Plus.ai to TRC, and to execute a battery of tests using our full set of tools, and pushing the limits of commercial vehicle testing,” said Brett Roubinek, president and CEO of TRC Inc.