Key takeaways:
- Drimote allows operators to control a truck from outside the cab, including forward and reverse movement, braking and steering.
- The technology is designed for low-speed manoeuvring during work rather than remote driving on public roads.
- Volvo Trucks has documented the technology being used in real commercial operations, including construction and bulk transport.
- Drimote says more than 170 Volvo trucks have been fitted with its remote-control systems worldwide.
- A simplified system is now being developed for operators that only need to move a truck forwards and backwards remotely.
The technology, developed by Drimote for Volvo trucks, is already used in construction, crane operations and other specialist applications where drivers would otherwise need to repeatedly climb in and out of the cab simply to reposition the vehicle.
Dutch commercial vehicle company Harbers Trucks has now taken over Drimote’s activities in the Netherlands and says it plans to broaden the technology’s applications.
How do you drive a truck from outside?
Drimote is designed to allow the operator to remain outside the cab while repositioning the vehicle. Depending on the installation, the remote control can be used to accelerate and decelerate, brake, engage the parking brake, steer and reverse the truck. Vehicle body functions can also be integrated into the same control system.
Volvo Trucks documented one particularly unusual application in France in 2022, involving an 8×4 Volvo FMX used to transport animal feed.
The truck could be manoeuvred from outside the cab while its tank equipment was also controlled remotely. According to Volvo, communication between the radio remote control and the truck’s electronic interface allowed the operator to control acceleration, braking, steering, reversing and the power take-off.
This type of system is particularly useful where a truck has to be repositioned repeatedly during a job.
Instead of stopping work, climbing into the cab, moving several metres and getting out again, the operator can stay beside the vehicle or at the controls of equipment such as a crane.
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Already being used in real operations
The technology is not a prototype. Volvo Trucks France reported another Drimote installation as far back as 2020, when transport and earthmoving company Vendroux equipped a Volvo FH 6×4 with the system. Its operator said remote control meant she no longer had to repeatedly return to the cab during work, saving both time and physical effort.
Volvo itself also offers truck technology designed to support external vehicle control. Its Volvo Dynamic Steering system can be connected to remote steering, while its FM range offers remote control of certain body and driveline functions.
Drimote says its system has been developed specifically for Volvo trucks and can be fitted to suitable FH, FM and FMX models, including diesel and electric vehicles.
The company says more than 170 installations have been completed worldwide since it began focusing on remote-control systems in 2017. That figure is supplied by Drimote rather than independently verified.
Safety is built around low-speed work
Remote control does not mean sending a driverless truck down the motorway. The system is intended for manoeuvring in controlled working environments, where the person operating the truck remains nearby.
Drimote says its system incorporates SafeStop technology and LiDAR-based obstacle detection, and that it has independent DEKRA certification as well as ECE R10 certification for its electronic components. The potential safety advantage is not simply automation. Being outside the cab can give an operator a better view of the immediate working area when manoeuvring around obstacles, equipment or loading points. That was also highlighted by the operator of the remotely controlled Volvo FMX tanker in France, who said the system made it easier to reach difficult delivery locations while improving visibility of the truck’s surroundings.
Now a simpler version is coming
The latest development could make the concept relevant to considerably more operators. Following its takeover of Drimote’s Dutch activities, Harbers Trucks says it is developing a simplified version that will allow a vehicle to be moved forwards and backwards remotely without offering full remote steering.
The logic is straightforward: many jobs do not require complete control of the truck. Harbers gives the example of loading beneath a silo. A driver may need to advance the truck several times as different parts of the vehicle are filled, but there may be no need to steer it. Instead of repeatedly getting back into the cab, the operator could simply move the truck forwards from outside.
Harbers says this stripped-down approach could make remote vehicle movement useful to a broader group of customers, rather than limiting it to specialist applications requiring full steering control. That could open the technology to more loading, construction and industrial operations where trucks routinely need to move only a few metres at a time.
