HIGH-TECH TRUCKING: The first self-driving vehicle you see may have 18 wheels

LAS VEGAS >> Traveling about 55 mph on a Nevada highway, the big rig’s driver looked like The Thinker, with his elbow on the armrest and his hand on his chin. No hands on the steering wheel, no feet on the pedals.

Mark Alvick was in “highway pilot” mode, the wheel moving this way and that as if a ghost were at the helm.

Daimler Trucks North America LLC says its “Inspiration” truck, the first self-driving semi-truck to be licensed to roll on public roads — in this case any highway or interstate in Nevada — is the future of trucking. It’s a future that will still need drivers, but they might be called “logistics managers.”

“The human brain is still the best computer money can buy,” said Daimler Trucks North America LLC CEO Martin Daum.