Autonomous truck maker Aurora Innovation Inc. is suing the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration after the agency denied its request for a five-year exemption from the placement of roadside warning devices in favor of cab-mounted warning beacons.
Safety and labor advocates won out over robotic trucking after the FMCSA rejected a request to replace traditional roadside warning devices with cab-mounted equipment.
Policies instituted over the past four years during the Biden-Harris administration will likely be reversed or sped up – many to the benefit of the trucking industry.
Safety and cost implications for trucking weigh heavily on three rulemakings that could see action next year.
A second Trump presidency could mean drastic course changes for DOT truck policy if the administration embraces recommendations in The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025.
Volvo Trucks North America revealed a 90% new VNL over-the-road truck that promises up to 10% better fuel efficiency.
Three companies departed autonomous trucking in 2023 as Aurora Innovation, Kodiak Robotics and Torc Robotics staked leadership claims.
The California Senate passed a bill to ban heavy-duty driverless trucks, leaving it to Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign or veto the legislation.
The governor of California appears to favor supporting autonomous trucking technology over labor objections.
Torc Chief Strategy Officer Andrew Culhane chats with FreightWaves’ Thomas Wasson in this Enterprise Fleet Summit fireside chat about the strategies used to integrate new technologies.
TuSimple plans driverless trucking on a commercial basis in Arizona next year – without a manufacturing partner.
How confident is Kodiak Robotics of the safety of its autonomous system? How about cutting a sensor cable while the truck is running?
The Wall Street Journal reported a federal watchdog group urged an espionage probe into TuSimple leaders, but the company denied the report.
It is pretty much acknowledged across the trucking industry that a consolidation of players in autonomous trucking is coming.
Autonomous trucking startup TuSimple will be on the hook for $15 million in cash severance if it ousts CEO Cheng Lu a second time.
Professional truck drivers key to the development and growth of PlusDrive highly automated driving solution
Outrider continues transforming yard operations to autonomy, adding a robotic arm to connect and disconnect brake lines.
Agency leaders join fleet executives and drivers on demo rides and drives of PlusDrive, designed to make trucking safer, more fuel efficient, more comfortable, and better for the environment
Autonomous trucking technology companies share the belief that driverless big rigs will help alleviate many of the industry’s biggest problems, from driver shortages and turnover rates to rising insurance, fuel and labor costs. Where competitors diverge is in their commercialization strategies. Most startups and OEMs are holding off on delivering an automated trucking solution until […]
Daimler Truck CEO Martin Daum has strong opinions on cabovers versus conventional trucks, fuel cells and other issues.
Immediate Focus on Optimizing Routes For Autonomy Before Deploying Automated Trucks
Daimler Truck is exerting greater influence over independent subsidiary Torc Robotics by bringing in its own CEO.
Schneider is joining fleets testing highway autonomy, starting commercial pilots in supervised Aurora Innovation trucks this week.
Semi-autonomous truck seamlessly navigates heavy traffic in demonstrations along the Southern California freeway
Waymo Via will reserve billions of miles of future autonomous trucking routes for digital load matching by Uber Freight.
Shippers should reconsider the pecking order of asset-based trucking companies first, brokerages second.
CEO Brett Suma lays out Loadsmith’s definition of capacity as a service.
TuSimple’s stock price has tanked in recent weeks, and a published report says the autonomous truck developer may sell its China business unit.
Startup Kodiak Robotics is the first to run regular autonomous loads to Oklahoma in a partnership with Ceva Logistics.
Autonomous trucks have garnered a significant amount of attention during this transition thanks to their impressive environmental benefits and inherent ability to solve a variety of industry ills. While technological efforts to get these vehicles on the road have progressed quickly, regulations surrounding their use have been slower to follow.
Nonbinding reservations from fleets hit 7,325 as 2021 revenues grow to $6.3 million
Truck Tech is a weekly newsletter providing perspective and context on autonomy, electrification and other technologies impacting the fleet ecosystem.
Kodiak Robotics CEO Don Burnette says asset utilization is the big promise of autonomous trucks now testing mostly in the southwest U.S.
As part of Daimler Truck, Torc Robotics faces less pressure than some startups to get driverless trucks to market.
Even Before Autonomous Trucks, Fleets Can Double Their Capacity By Tom Kroswek, Vice President, Strategy & Business Development In a previous post, I overviewed how the Autonomous Relay NetworkSM can help carriers and shippers optimize their trucking service for autonomy. Now I want to explain more about how Locomation works with trucking companies to re-engineer their operating models […]
The ARC system will reduce a truck’s GHG footprint by 22%, Operating Costs by 19%, and Fuel Consumption by 21% PITTSBURGH, PA—Locomation, a leading provider of autonomous trucking technology solutions, today announced the findings of an independent environmental impact evaluation [report link and infographic link], that its Autonomous Relay Convoy™ (ARC) system will dramatically reduce the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) footprint, fuel […]
By Dr. Çetin Meriçli, CEO and Co-founder of Locomation. Concerns about the nation’s supply-chain are making headlines and raising concerns from Main Street to the White House. Parents worry about not having holiday gifts for their children after a stressful and strenuous year, and some worry that sectors dependent on foreign technology may be backlogged for […]
Aurora Technology pledges to be first to take the driver out of an autonomous truck in late 2023, but its freight ambitions are modest at present.
Don Lefeve of Robotic Research joins the show to discuss the very near future of autonomous trucking.
F3 Virtual Experience trucking roundup Last week FreightWaves hosted the F3 Virtual Experience, which involved industry leaders discussing topics related to the future of freight, key factors impacting markets, industry trends and venture capital investments. Key topics included autonomous and electric vehicles, FreightTech and a demonstration of the new SONAR feature, the Trusted Rate Assessment […]
Robot trucks have to sense when trouble lurks, such as an impatient motorist passing on the left — or the right — when they are trying to turn.
Ravi Shanker, Morgan Stanley executive director and lead transportation analyst, talks with Danny Gomez, FreightWaves managing director of financial and emerging markets, about how autonomous technology will continue to disrupt the freight transportation space.
Revenue is not the point in TuSimple’s partnership with UPS, which holds the autonomous trucking startup to its third-party shipper standards.
By Tom Kroswek Vice President, Strategy & Business Development Tom Kroswek is a logistics and engineering professional with 30+ years of experience in supply chain engineering, transportation analysis, inbound manufacturing support, and distribution/fulfillment operations. Throughout his career, Tom has immersed himself in data analytics, logistics engineering, supply chain analysis, project management, business development and operations […]
TuSimple is sitting on $1.5 billion in cash as it ramps up hiring and expands its autonomous freight network.
Autonomous software provider will evaluate miniature machine for Navistar truck
How NASA’s Mars Rover is helping to chart a path for autonomous trucks
Kodiak Robotics co-founder and CEO Don Burnette explains why the development of autonomous trucking is poised to leap from the experimentation phase to a viable commercial product during the Autonomous & Electric Vehicles Summit.
Autonomous & Electric Vehicles Summit – Register Now
Professional drivers help teach their robotic successors while evangelizing for the technology among truckers who feel threatened.
Locomation: Re-Engineering the World’s Supply Chain for Autonomy
Autonomous Operation Levels
Waymo solved the maze of autonomously navigating surface streets. That is helping WaymoVia teach commercial trucks how to do likewise.
Forget the autonomous trucking horse race, Wall Street and competitors are fixated on TuSimple’s “driver-out” pilot in Q4.
TuSimple will focus on perfecting its core autonomous trucking technology on the middle mile while it relies on partners for other aspects of the technology and services required.
A Product Roadmap with Locomation: Full Autonomy in Four Phases.
Walt Disney predicted the technological advances of autonomous vehicles in his 1958 short film called “Magic Highway.” Read more about the history of AI-driven automobiles.
Understanding trucking automation’s effect on the trucker workforce is a priority for the Biden administration, an FMCSA official asserts.
Kodiak Robotics, one of a handful of startups aiming to automate commercial trucking, has successfully completed “disengage-free” deliveries on a 205-mile stretch of Texas highway.
Autonomous trucking startup Ike takes No. 17 spot on FreightTech 25 after a year that saw new partnerships with fleets and acquisition by partner Nuro.
Autonomous delivery company Nuro has acquired Ike, a trucking technology startup founded by veterans of Apple, Google and Uber ATG.
Plus will sell trucks powered by its automated driving system on Full Truck Alliance, the Google-backed Chinese digital freight-matching platform.
Big-city Mayors Garcetti and Emanuel are receiving much of the speculation for DOT secretary.
Full Truck Alliance is an investor in Plus, an autonomous trucking company rolling out a Level 3 truck in China starting in 2021.
The collaboration will provide tires and tire management to TuSimple’s budding autonomous freight network.
Industry panel: Autonomous trucks will be phased in gradually, eventually transforming a huge swath of economic activity.
Trucking is going sustainable. Find out the details on AFVs, FTLs, automation and what new regulations to expect next year.
Ike founder Alden Woodrow talks about the company’s unconventional approach to securing funding and bringing its product to market.
TuSimple has secured property for a new logistics hub in an innovation zone located near the Fort Worth Alliance Airport.
The autonomous trucking company is moving toward commercialization of Level 3 trucks, with mass production to start next year.
The self-driving vehicle company announces new leadership hires; claims 600 employees.
Autonomous trucking software developer Ike announced a partnership to deploy level 4 driverless trucks.
Driverless trucking startup Ike is lining up Ryder System, DHL and NFI Industries to test trucks equipped with its hardware and software.
Project considered critical to developing federal safety standards and guidelines.
TuSimple may be the country’s largest self-driving truck company, but according to a Wednesday report in the Information, the company is struggling financially.
Plus.ai, a self-driving trucking company based in the U.S. and China, is in talks to raise $60 million, the Information reported.
Autonomous trucking startup TuSimple is joining forces with Navistar International Corp. to develop self-driving semi trucks.
TuSimple, Kodiak Robotics among the recipients of PPP loans. (Photo credit: Kodiak Robotics)
TuSimple has launched an Autonomous Freight Network with UPS, Penske, U.S. Xpress and McLane Co.
Dennis Mooney will help the startup commercialize autonomous trucks
Startup’s request to extend driving limit and workday gets broad pushback.
Ike has laid off 14% of its staff
Kodiak Robotics, the Mountain View, California-based autonomous trucking company, has laid off about 20% of its staff, The Information reported Thursday, raising new questions about the ability of autonomous trucking startups to follow through on the promise of getting self-driving big rigs on the road. “Like many both in our industry and beyond it, we […]
Paul Schlegel writes about the future of autonomous vehicles – particularly autonomous trucks.
The collaboration will produce cameras, LiDAR, radar, steering and more.
“They don’t need to sleep in a vehicle. They can work in an office environment and then go home.”
Founders of the self-driving truck outfit discuss efforts to build a logistics company for autonomous vehicles.
A video of President Trump telling associates to “get rid of” Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch includes unrelated chat about self-driving vehicles.
The autonomous trucking startup plans to test vehicles in most continental states by the end of 2020.
The self-driving truck startup hauled tubs of Land O’Lakes butter from Tulare, California, to Quakertown, Pennsylvania.
“The belief that technological advancements of labor-saving equipment will lead to long-term unemployment is a fallacy that can lead to great harm,” Pronto CEO says.
Democratic candidate Andrew Yang also proposes a $1,000-a-month “universal basic income” for workers displaced by automation.
The tech uproar created a prime environment for startups to enter the space, providing innovative products and disrupting the status quo.
A study released by autonomous truck startup Ike suggests that instead of eliminating jobs, some approaches to automation shift the task from long-haul to short-haul jobs for drivers.
MIT-incubated start-up looks for learning models; just what food truck do you like?
The Swedish autonomous electric truck startup Einride closes a $25 million Series A round.
FreightWaves’ Chief Analytics Officer Dean Croke (who also has been a professional truck driver), reviews the newest Freightliner Cascadia.
Autonomous trucking outfit Embark Trucks has raised $70 million in a series C funding round led by Tiger Global Management, with participation from seven other firms, Forbes has reported. The new financing round brings its fundraising total to $117 million. The company will use the funds to add staff and trucks to its fleet, which […]
As the gaps between tractors and trailers shrink through aerodynamic design, making connections safer is only one concern for standards-writing engineers who must account for autonomous trucking in the near future.
A conversation about the future of autonomous trucking with pro-labor author and sociologist Steve Viscelli.
