Freightliner introduced the world to its Inspiration truck, a prototype for the first semi-truck capable of fully autonomous highway driving that's been officially licensed to operate on public highways in Nevada. The Inspiration truck operates at Autonomy Level 3, which means that it can take full control from a human driver under some conditions, but that the driver still needs to be able to take over when the system needs help. These automation levels are defined by the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and here's the entire range, from full manual control (Level 0) to full autonomy (Level 4).
Specifically, the Inspiration truck will follow GPS directions, maintaining safe and efficient (and legal) speeds, staying in its lane, and slowing or stopping or speeding up as necessitated by traffic conditions. It won't change lanes to pass, however.
