US Postal Service Tests Self-Driving Trucks to Move Mail
美国邮政局利用无人驾驶卡车派送邮件
The United States Postal Service, or USPS has begun tests with self-driving trucks to transport mail.
美国邮政局（USPS）开始测试利用自动驾驶卡车运送邮件。
The Postal Service is partnering with a California based company, called TuSimple, on the project. The tests are being carried out over two weeks.
美国邮政局与加州的TuSimple公司就该项目展开合作。测试将在两周内进行。
Two of TuSimple's self-driving trucks will transport mail between the southwestern cities of Phoenix, Arizona and Dallas, Texas. The trucks will make five round trips between the cities. Each one will cover a distance of about 3,300 kilometers.
TuSimple公司的两辆自动驾驶卡车将在亚利桑那州的凤凰城以及德克萨斯州的达拉斯这两座西南城市之间派送邮件。卡车将在两座城市往返5趟。每次往返路程约3300公里。
The testing is aimed at seeing whether the self-driving technology can reduce transportation times and costs and improve road safety. If successful, the Postal Service could deploy the trucks permanently to move mail between major U.S. population centers.
测试旨在了解自动驾驶技术能否缩短运输时间、降低成本，改善道路安全。如果测试成功，美国邮政局或将在主要人口中心城市之间永久性部署这类卡车派送邮件。
"The work with TuSimple is our first initiative in autonomous long-haul transportation," said Postal Service official Kim Frum. She told the Reuters news agency the project is part of USPS efforts "to operate a future class of vehicles" using the latest technologies.
美国邮政局官员金·弗拉姆（Kim Frum） 表示：“与TuSimple公司的合作是我们在自主长途运输方面的第一个项目。”她告诉路透社，该项目是美国邮政局采用最新技术“运营未来一类车辆”的一部分。
TuSimple said a human "safety driver" will be sitting in the driver's seat at all times during the trips to intervene if necessary. An engineer will ride in the passenger seat as an observer and to take notes.
TuSimple表示，运输途中会有“安全驾驶员”坐在驾驶座，在必要的情况下进行干预。而工程师会坐在副驾位置进行观察并记录。
The trucks will travel on major interstate roads that pass through Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.
这些卡车将在穿越亚利桑那州、新墨西哥州和德克萨斯州的主要州际公路上行驶。
TuSimple noted on its website the trucks are equipped with a camera system that sees about 1,000 meters down the road. It said this provides 35 seconds of reaction time, giving the system enough time "to make the safest and most efficient driving decisions."
TuSimple公司在其网站上指出，这些卡车配备了一套摄像系统，可以看到约1000米开外的路况，为车辆提供35秒的反应时间，让系统有充足的时间“做出最安全、有效的驾驶决定。”
The California company and the USPS have yet to talk about the cost of the program, but Frum said no tax dollars were used. The Postal Service pays for its operating costs through sales of postage stamps and other products.
这家加州公司和美国邮政局尚未讨论该项目的成本，但是弗拉姆表示没有使用纳税人的钱。美国邮政局通过销售邮票和其它产品来支付其运营成本。
One of the main goals of the technology is to remove the need for truck drivers.
该技术的主要目标之一是省去对卡车司机的需求。
Chuck Price is TuSimple's chief product officer. Price told Reuters he thinks the testing project is a good example of the way autonomous trucks will be used in the future. "These long runs are beyond the range of a single human driver, which means today if they do this run they have to figure out how to cover it with multiple drivers in the vehicle," he said.
查克·普莱斯（Chuck Price）是TuSimple公司的首席产品官。普莱斯告诉路透社表示，他认为该测试项目是未来自动驾驶卡车应用的范例。他说：“这种长途驾驶超出了一位驾驶员的能力范围，这意味着如果今天他们要跑这一趟，他们必须弄清楚如何让车内的多名驾驶员跑完全程。”
