Kamaz’s Push-me-Pull-you AV Truck Starts Testing

By Roma Nazarov

Russian truck maker Kamaz claims to have begun physical testing of an autonomous cabless concept truck.

The BEV dubbed Chelnok, meaning shuttle, targets short-range transportation of goods in closed areas such as logistic hubs, port terminals or large manufacturing sites. Most unusually, it features symmetrical front and rear ends and is capable to move in both directions.

Teaser shots released in February reveal that each vehicle’s end features both headlights and taillights while the fascia is shaped to be naturally interpreted by human mind as front or rear, depending on the direction of movement. Also, for this purpose, the vehicle is equipped with steering mechanisms and electric motors on both axes. The general idea is that a vehicle that never has to do a U-turn allows for more efficient logistic schemes.

According to Kamaz, by getting rid of the cabin, the cost of a mass production truck can be downsized by up to 20%. It also allows for a more compact design with the whole vehicle’s length used as a cargo bed. Thanks to absence of protruding parts, it can be approached from all the four horizontal directions for loading.

Nikolay Lobanov, founder of consultancy firm Lobanov-Logist, said: “The very reason why the government established the state corporation Rostec, the main shareholder of Kamaz, was to try and seek new opportunities for technological innovations, to collect even the most exotic ideas, to implement new designs in small-scale production and test them in practical pilots to see if there is demand from the market to justify commercialization. I think that Chelnok is a good illustration here. Even an unconventional design such as a cabless electric heavy-duty vehicle can gain practical interest today, provided it is not used on public roads. I don’t rule out a possible situation that in the nearest future, Rostec and Kamaz will negotiate with some larger companies with governmental ownership, logistics hubs, or port terminals on a pilot to test a fleet of five to 10 vehicles, in order to improve the technology and analyze its practical efficiency.”

Another question is if the bi-directional design can be implemented in the existing logistic schemes. “In theory, we see an opportunity for the vehicle operation in the existing transport schemes that might result in a more efficient and smooth circulation of cargo traffic in ports and hubs,” said Muradyan.

Lobanov expressed doubts that the vehicle’s symmetry could be efficiently applied in the today’s transport systems: “To benefit from the feature, the warehousing infrastructure and technologies have to be re-engineered too deeply for the changes to be financially justified. Volvo achieved a comparable result but with a more universal approach.”