Russian heavy truck maker KamAZ will follow in Google's footsteps and launch driverless vehicles by the end of the decade, the company said.
KamAZ will partner with Russian software company Cognitive Technologies to create drone vehicles on the platform of a next-generation truck, online newspaper Gazeta.ru cited a company press release as saying Tuesday.
The project is pitched as an answer to Russia's often dangerous intercity road network, which has gained Internet notoriety as a hotbed of car dashcam mayhem videos.
The trucks would drive themselves automatically using a passive radar and information gleaned from video cameras installed around the vehicle. The system behind the wheel should be ready by 2020, the report said.
The project will be funded by the Russian Education and Science Ministry, which has pitched in 300 million rubles ($4.5 million), and a 90 million ruble investment by KamAZ.
The system that will drive the trucks will be required to operate under a variety of weather conditions, have the ability to recognize pedestrians and other obstacles regardless of their direction of movement.
The maximum response time for the new system will be no more than 0.3 seconds.
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