J.B. Hunt, Kodiak break 50,000-mile mark on autonomous lane

J.B. Hunt Transport Services said Wednesday it has surpassed an autonomous trucking milestone, completing more than 50,000 miles using Kodiak Robotics’ driverless trucks. The two companies teamed up with Bridgestone to move car tires between South Carolina and Dallas.

J.B. Hunt (NASDAQ: JBHT) uses its own equipment to move the tires from a Bridgestone (JPX: 5108.T) plant in Graniteville, South Carolina, to a Kodiak hub near Atlanta. Using two-person safety driver teams, the Kodiak trucks...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/j-b-hunt-kodiak-break-50000-mile-mark-on-autonomous-lane

Could autonomous trucks help save the planet?

It’s understood that autonomous trucks boost fuel efficiency compared to human-driven big rigs.

But the potential energy efficiency gains could be far greater.

In a white paper released Tuesday, Aurora Innovation looked at immediate, medium- and longer-term opportunities and found some obvious and not-so-obvious savings.

The headline factoid: Autonomous trucks could achieve 13%-32% net energy efficiency improvement per loaded mile compared to human-driven miles. It is a lot to digest. 

Aurora makes...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/could-autonomous-trucks-help-save-the-planet

Loaded and Rolling: Kodiak Robotics, Pilot open 1st autonomous truckport

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Kodiak Robotics, Pilot open 1st autonomous truckport

(Image: Kodiak Robotics Inc./Pilot Co.)

On...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/loaded-and-rolling-kodiak-robotics-pilot-open-1st-autonomous-truckport

Loaded and Rolling: Yellow exec says bankruptcy coming Monday

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Yellow exec to sales staff: Bankruptcy on Monday

(Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

The saga of...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/loaded-and-rolling-yellow-exec-says-bankruptcy-coming-monday

Carrier relationships vital to deploying autonomous technologies

This fireside chat recap is from FreightWaves’ Enterprise Fleet Summit on Wednesday.

FIRESIDE CHAT TOPIC: Autonomous truck technology’s impact on fleet growth. 

DETAILS: Andrew Culhane, chief strategy officer at Torc, chats with Thomas Wasson, FreightWaves enterprise trucking carrier expert, about how autonomous technology is changing the fleet landscape and about pilot programs with the nation’s largest truckload carriers. Torc is an independent subsidiary of Daimler.

KEY QUOTES FROM ANDREW...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/carrier-relationships-vital-to-deploying-autonomous-technologies

Running on Ice: May flowers have arrived

Hello, and welcome to the coolest community in freight! Here you’ll find the latest information on warehouse news, tech developments and all things reefer madness-related. I’m your controller of the thermostat, Mary O’Connell. Thanks for having me!

All thawed out
(Photo: U.S. Customs and Border Protection)

It’s that time of year when Sunday brunch dreams are dashed with hourlong waits as families flock to restaurants on behalf of mothers. Mother’s Day is this weekend, so best to avoid the floral...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/running-on-ice-may-flowers-have-arrived

Kodiak Robotics leads on path to commercialization

It’s hard to deny the soft economic conditions over the last year have created headwinds in transportation, and cutting-edge industries like autonomous trucking have not been spared.

Despite these economic obstacles, individual autonomous vehicle (AV) companies are proving they are well-equipped to navigate this challenging market, and are making continuous progress on the path toward commercialization.

Kodiak Robotics is a prime example. Kodiak, which just marked its fifth anniversary, has taken...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/kodiak-robotics-leads-on-path-to-commercialization

Sensor analytics for robotic trucks could provide reverse benefit

Back in February, the predictive analytics software experts at Uptake cut a deal with Daimler Truck to use its data-as-a-service model to tell when any of 160 possible faults and failures could happen. This could result in huge savings for fleets adding the software.

How would this play out for driverless trucks.

“You’re going to see a greater amount of sensor data and information coming out of each one of these trucks,” said Jim Lowell, vice president of technology for Chicago-based Uptake....

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/sensor-analytics-for-robotic-trucks-could-provide-reverse-benefit

Kodiak Robotics shaves unibrow off its autonomous trucks

The fifth generation of Kodiak Robotics’ autonomous truck design moved more components into mirror-mounted SensorPods, eliminating the “unibrow” of cameras and radars above the windshield that suggests a science project rather than a production truck.

Kodiak is aiming for the same end-of-2024 time frame that competitors TuSimple and Aurora Innovation point to for limited driverless commercial runs of their autonomous trucks, albeit with a more streamlined appearance.

Aurora moved to a cleaner...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/kodiak-robotics-shaves-unibrow-off-its-autonomous-trucks