Pennsylvanian autonomous tech start-up Aurora has launched its commercial self-driving trucks in Texas by completing customer deliveries between Dallas and Houston.
The Uber, Morgan Stanley and BlackRock-backed start-up has now become the first company to operate a commercial self-driving service with heavy-duty trucks on public roads.
Chris Urmson, CEO and Co-Founder of Aurora, said:
“We founded Aurora to deliver the benefits of self-driving technology safely, quickly, and broadly. Now, we are the first company to successfully and safely operate a commercial driverless trucking service on public roads. Riding in the back seat for our inaugural trip was an honor of a lifetime – the Aurora Driver performed perfectly and it’s a moment I’ll never forget.”
The company stated plans to expand its service to El Paso, Texas and Phoenix, Arizona this year in a press release.
Trucking is a trillion dollar industry in the U.S. but it faces challenges, including an aging driver population with high turnover rates and increasing operating costs.
Lior Ron, Founder and CEO of Uber Freight, said:
“When Uber Freight and Aurora came together more than four years ago, we set out to transform the future of logistics…Moving autonomous commercial freight without anyone behind the wheel is a historic step forward in our mission to build a smarter and more efficient supply chain.”
Most U.S. states today allow for driverless vehicles, including Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.
Aurora’s launch trucks are equipped with the Aurora Driver hardware kit and numerous redundant systems including braking, steering, power, sensing, controls, computing, cooling, and communication, enabling them to operate without a human driver.
The start-up has boasted working with industry leaders such as Continental, FedEx, Hirschbach, NVIDIA, PACCAR, Ryder, Schneider, Toyota, Uber, Uber Freight, Volvo Trucks, Volvo Autonomous Solutions, and Werner, who it may look to to scale its operations.
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