On Thursday, Oct. 22, the Smart Belt Coalition (SBC) conducted an automated truck platooning demonstration that began in Pittsburgh and ended in Michigan.

A collaboration between the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), transportation agencies in Ohio and Pennsylvania, and academic institutions in all three states, the SBC partnered with Locomation, the provider of the world’s first trucking technology platform to offer human-guided autonomous convoying, to complete the demonstration. The SBC and Locomation demonstrated the agency coordination and administrative and procedural requirements necessary for a truck platooning system to operate continuously through the three states.

While performing the demonstration, the SBC coordinated food donations between the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, the Toledo Northwestern Ohio Food Bank, and Forgotten Harvest in Detroit.

“Michigan has been at the forefront of developing mobility technologies of the future, and this demonstration follows others completed here to foster more research focused on safer ways to move freight,” says State Transportation Director Paul C. Ajegba.

“This furthers the culture of collaboration we've encouraged between private industry, government and academia to support research, testing and operations of automated vehicles.”

Formed in 2016, the SBC is described as a “strategic transportation collaborative.” It is made up of 12 organizations located throughout Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, including five transportation agencies and seven research and academic institutions. 

According to MDOT, the goal of the SBC is to “foster collaboration among multiple agencies and research affiliates from Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, involving research, testing, policy, standards development, deployments, outreach, and funding pursuits in the area of connected and automated vehicle technology, as well as other innovations in the transportation industry.”