The world still hasn’t seen the widespread presence of self-driving trucks on the road, but the transportation industry is diligently working to make this a reality.
While autonomous trucks are already being tested and making deliveries every day along dedicated routes, questions about how autonomous trucks will interact, and exist in, their environments still need to be answered.
For instance, what lanes will be best suited for autonomous trucks? How will on-the-ground operations need to be...
For the first time, autonomous 26-foot box trucks are replacing Class 8 tractor-trailers along dedicated routes in Texas.
Gatik, which has been running self-driving pilot programs with Walmart and other companies, announced Tuesday that its technology will be used on linehaul routes previously served by KBX Logistics’ 53-foot trailers. KBX is a partner of Gatik’s in the program, which is taking place in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. The program will begin in July.
“For the first time, Gatik...
Lightning eMotors has partnered with Perrone Robotics to offer Level 4 fully autonomous commercial vehicles to customers.
The companies announced Monday that PIDC, a public-private economic development corporation in Philadelphia, is the first customer to deploy an all-electric autonomous shuttle using Perrone’s TONY AV platform. The vehicles, which are on sale now, are also available in cargo versions.
Level 4 vehicles are currently restricted...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/lightning-emotors-perrone-robotics-offer-level-4-autonomous-van
Driving is hard. Professional truck drivers know this. From “four-wheelers” who don’t understand how to drive safely around 80,000-pound vehicles to the kid who darts out from behind the parked car, the unexpected challenges can test the patience of any driver. Decisions must be made constantly — and instantaneously. One wrong decision and someone can die.
Those challenges are also what developers of autonomous vehicles point to when promoting their technology, promising that roadways will be...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/who-is-teaching-autonomous-trucks-how-to-drive
Autonomous vehicle technology developer Gatik has reached a strategic lease and vehicle maintenance agreement with Ryder System and possibly a logistics operations management deal down the road.
Ryder (NYSE: R), which offers dedicated transportation solutions as well as vehicle lease and maintenance services, will lease a fleet of medium-duty, multi-temperature box trucks to Gatik for use in Gatik’s expanding autonomous fleet. Gatik will outfit the vehicles with its self-driving technology that...
It’s no secret that self-driving vehicles are a thing. From trucks to passenger vehicles to middle-mile delivery vans, companies across the transportation industry are doing everything they can to get drivers out of vehicles.
But they can only do so much. Currently, there exists no overarching federal legislation for the regulation of driverless vehicles, with the only framework in place being a patchwork of state-by-state regulations and statutory requirements. That has severely limited their...
Self-driving cars and trucks under testing or being deployed commercially will likely be involved in at least 200 crashes annually over the next three years, according to estimates by federal regulators.
In seeking approval from the Office of Management and Budget to gather new autonomous vehicle (AV) crash-data information, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration revealed on Wednesday what it considers accurate estimates – based on automated driving system (ADS) crashes reported in...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/feds-predict-at-least-200-automated-vehicle-crashes-annually
When middle-mile autonomous vehicle company Gatik closed an $85 million Series B funding round last month, the announcement came with the news that “several strategic investors” had participated in the round.
On Tuesday, Gatik revealed that Goodyear Ventures, Goodyear’s (NASDAQ: GT) venture capital fund, participated in the new funding round and announced it would collaborate with the tire maker as it develops its autonomous middle-mile vehicle. The size of the investment was not specified.
“Gatik...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/av-company-gatik-taps-goodyear-for-intelligent-tire-technology
Federal regulators are anticipating the day when hours-of-service rules may have to be changed to accommodate automated driving systems.
Those changes could emerge in situations where half the team in a long-haul driving operation is not human, according to Jeff Loftus, who heads the technology division in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Office of Analysis, Research and Technology.
“We’re trying to anticipate new business models, where there could be instances with emerging...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fmcsa-sees-potential-for-human-autonomous-team-driver-regulations
Federal regulators have ordered manufacturers and operators of trucks equipped with Level 2 advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) or Levels 3-5 automated driving systems (ADS) to report crashes.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced on Tuesday that it was exercising its authority through a standing general order issued to 108 companies, which also includes passenger vehicle manufacturers, “to collect information necessary for the agency to play its role in keeping...