Far from the sleek and futuristic concept cars often showcased by automakers, the first iterations of self-driving vehicles to reach the road may be no more glamorous than garbage trucks. That’s because they may literally be garbage trucks.
Volvo has started work on joint research and development with Renova, a waste-disposal company in western Sweden. The project explores how automated garbage trucks can make pickup more efficient and safe in urban environments. Renova is owned by 10 municipalities in western Sweden and operates a fleet of 220 heavy vehicles. The work is expected to continue through the end of 2017.
?There is amazing potential to transform the swift pace of technical developments in automation into practical benefits for customers and more broadly, society in general,? said Lars Stenqvist, chief technology officer of Volvo Group. The project emerged as an offshoot to the company?s ongoing research into self-driving trucks, which continues in the Kristineberg Mine in northern Sweden. Volvo says the technology used for mining operations is similar to what?s needed for a garbage truck, and it?s easy to see why the company would consider the latter as a potential opportunity.

Many of the first automated vehicles to first reach public roads, especially in complex environments like cities, will need to operate at low speeds and travel along predefined or pre-mapped routes. Garbage trucks, with their predictable schedules and inchworm pace, fit both param...