Ouster

The Whac-A-Mole reality of autonomous trucking regulations

If you thought last year’s veto of a Teamsters-backed ban on heavy-duty autonomous trucking in California put the issue to rest, think again. While 23 states allow at least testing of driverless trucking, emerging challenges resemble the arcade game Whac-A-Mole.

Early-stage commercialized driverless trucking on Interstate 45 in Texas looks likely later this year. The state embraced the technology in 2017. Yet a move to stop driver-out operations percolated in the Texas Legislature last year.

“That...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/the-whac-a-mole-reality-of-autonomous-trucking-regulations

Chinese lidar maker gets US patent infringement claim terminated

The International Trade Commission has terminated a patent infringement suit by an American lidar maker against a Chinese competitor. But the case will continue in federal court. 

San Francisco-based Ouster Inc. sued Shanghai-based Hesai Group in April, seeking to bar Hesai from importing certain autonomous vehicle technology to the U.S. The ITC did not address the merits of Ouster’s claim. The ruling lifts a stay on a federal suit Ouster filed in U.S. District Court in Delaware seeking an...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/chinese-lidar-maker-gets-us-patent-infringement-claim-terminated

Lidar maker Ouster sues China’s Hesai for patent infringement

Lidar maker Ouster Inc. has sued Chinese rival Hesai Inc., alleging patent infringement. It is seeking to bar Hesai from importing the autonomous vehicle technology in question to the U.S.

The complaint filed with the International Trade Commission asks the commission to investigate Shanghai-based Hesai. San Francisco-based Ouster also sued Hesai in U.S. District Court in Delaware, seeking an injunction and monetary damages.

Hesai, with customers that include autonomous truck software developer...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/lidar-maker-ouster-sues-chinas-hesai-for-patent-infringement

Startups struggling to make financial ends meet

One is a startup. The other is better described as an early-stage growth company. Choosing lidar maker Ouster Inc. and bus, battery and electric infrastructure provider Proterra Inc. for Securities and Exchange Commission filings scrutiny may be selective. But they represent the ongoing financial difficulties affecting companies trying to advance transportation technology.

Some have already left the stage: XL Fleet was purchased by the Shyft Group. Electric Last Mile Solutions went bankrupt amid...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/startups-struggling-to-make-financial-ends-meet

Has the lidar shakeout produced a winning combination?

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Setting aside a legal battle over patent infringement, lidar makers Ouster and Velodyne Lidar are...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/has-the-lidar-shakeout-produced-a-winning-combination

How soon will we see an autonomous trucking shakeout?

It is pretty much acknowledged across the trucking industry that a consolidation of players in autonomous trucking is coming. Money is tight. Borrowing is expensive. Share prices and corresponding book values are in the dumper. 

The coming shakeout

No single factor proves a shakeout among autonomous trucking players is coming. But an accumulation of evidence suggests that not all of today’s entrants will survive as independents.

PitchBook writes of mobility tech in its 2023 Industry and Technology...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/how-soon-will-we-see-an-autonomous-trucking-shakeout

Outrider ready to scale distribution yard autonomy

Outrider autonomous yard tractor next to a line of trailers

Five-year-old startup Outrider is ready to scale its autonomous approach to logistics hubs, aiming to eliminate freight inefficiency.

The Golden, Colorado-based company is releasing a next-generation autonomy kit for yard automation. Over-the-air software updates and the ability to to swap autonomous yard tractors also include remote technical support.

“Distribution yards are harsh industrial environments with around-the-clock operations, Andrew Smith, Outrider founder and CEO, said in a press...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/outrider-ready-to-scale-distribution-yard-autonomy

Another SPAC scandal: Top ELMS leaders resign over discounted stock buys

CEO James Taylor and Chairman Jason Luo are out at Electric Last Mile Solutions Inc., a startup last-mile van maker, following a board probe into their deeply discounted stock purchases before the company went public via SPAC in December 2020. 

Both Luo and Taylor are veteran auto executives. Taylor had a long career at General Motors (NYSE: GM) before running Workhorse Group (NASDAQ: WKHS). Luo is the former president of Ford China.

ELMS is assembling Class 1 delivery vans at a former GM plant...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/another-spac-scandal-top-elms-leaders-resign-over-discounted-stock-buys

Who will survive the coming shakeout of lidar suppliers?

In the laser light-bouncing technology space awash with struggling startups, selling to more than autonomous vehicle makers is a popular growth strategy to survive a coming industry shakeout.  

Only one of six startups that began public life via special purpose acquisition company sponsorship in the last year is trading above the typical SPAC offering price of $10 a share. A seventh SPAC merger awaits shareholder approval and is trading close to the $10 mark.

The industry that makes...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/who-will-survive-the-coming-shakeout-of-lidar-suppliers

Selling autonomy: Practical realities meet fully robotic aspirations

Two approaches dominate autonomous trucking: Keep working toward a flawless system that replaces the human driver with a robot. Or market what works today and keep striving for driverless operation.

All developers of high-autonomy Level 4 commercial trucks run real-world miles. Many haul freight on selected routes with safety drivers on board in case something goes wrong. TuSimple generated $1.5 million in revenue from supervised runs on its Autonomous Freight Network in Q2.

Repackaging for use...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/selling-autonomy-practical-realities-meet-fully-robotic-aspirations

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