Will automation put an end to the American trucker?

Suggest change title from tracker to trucker.

The automation of vehicles is taken to strongly imply robotic devices elsewhere in society.

Apart from more sophisticated robot hoovers, lawn mowers I don't think that is necessarily so.

Hoovers and mowers are safe because they are small, light, low to the ground and constrained to floors and lawns.

Vehicles, fast, heavy, high, are in a controlled environment.

Other controlled enviroments like factories have already ventured into robotics.

It seems to me that main advantages of automated movement would exist in unstructured environments like streets, shops. The robots I've seen so far have low center of gravity, are heavy so as to inhibit any danger.

What exactly does automated driving do for other unstructured environments?

It is far from clear to me that this is going to be a trifle soon after the roads swarm with autos.

Fixed - thanks.

In the United States at least, it's going to be devastating. I don't see a bunch of individual owner-operators banding together to protect their livelihoods. As soon as it's cheaper to run automated trucks, they'll get picked off one by one. Probably the best than can be hoped for is laws mandating a person as co-operator in case of emergency. There's also some version of the last mile problem, where people need to be present.

For fully automated trucking, I imagine no one has explored the security implications yet. These vehicles seem far too easy to hijack, redirect, or delay and steal the cargo. Take out the human factor and long-haul trucks are autonomous warehouses roaming the countryside.