[patrickmn]

Trucks driving autonomously on the interstate and being picked up by a human operator near city limits doesn't seem that far away. The trick will be to balance competition and the need to be first to market with the risk of accidents, because every negative PR hit for self-driving cars sets back the entire field politically.

[grzm]

This is an interesting idea. It has parallels with harbor pilots who guide ships through harbors and other hazardous waterways.

Edit to add: Taking the idea a bit further, why not have remote drivers who can handle these problematic bits?

[gpvos]

Regarding remote drivers: probably for the same reason we don't have remote harbour pilots.

[grzm]

Do you have a specific reason in mind? I have no experience in this area, so my own speculations are just that. One practical issue may be lag. Connectivity would also of course be very important.

There are historical reasons as well, but given we're discussing new technology (automated trucking), there are plenty of things that will change as a result and may not have much sway going forward.

[azernik]

I'm not familiar with the actual design decisions involved, but I'd also imagine field of view for an on-the-spot operator would be better than for someone operating through cameras, unless you invest in a very expensive surround setup.

[Eridrus]

Can't remember the name of the start-up, but there are people working on remote truck driving.