Colorado is deploying unmanned crash‑protection trucks that follow a lead maintenance vehicle and absorb work‑zone impacts, eliminating the need for a driver in the 'sacrificial' truck. The leader records its route and streams navigation to the follower, with sensors and remote override for safety; each retrofit costs about $1 million. This constrained 'leader‑follower' autonomy is a practical path for AVs that saves lives now.
— It reframes autonomous vehicles as targeted, safety‑first public deployments rather than consumer robo‑cars, shaping procurement, labor safety policy, and public acceptance of AI.
Devin Reese
2025.12.01
46% relevant
The convoy trucks piece shows a constrained, pragmatic deployment path for autonomy where safety and narrow tasking (protecting crews) make adoption feasible—similarly, the elephant study suggests a constrained conservation use‑case (monitoring rather than deterrence) where habituation and animal welfare must govern operational design.
BeauHD
2025.10.03
100% relevant
CDOT’s demo of Kratos Defense’s autonomous truck‑mounted attenuator and Kay Kelly’s line, “These vehicles are designed to get hit so people don’t have to.”
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