Volvo Autonomous Solutions and Toronto-based Waabi have reached a milestone in their autonomous trucking partnership, successfully integrating the Waabi Driver with the Volvo VNL Autonomous. The achievement marks a step toward the commercial deployment of self-driving freight vehicles, the companies said in a news release.
The Oct. 28 announcement builds on the ongoing collaboration between the two companies, combining Waabi’s artificial intelligence (AI)-driven autonomy with Volvo’s purpose-built autonomous truck platform. Both companies are now focused on validating the integrated system for safe, scalable deployment.
“The future of autonomous trucking hinges on three critical areas: autonomous technology that is safe, scalable, and can deliver on customer needs; hardware that is purpose-built for autonomous operations from the ground up; and a commercial deployment model that solves problems in the supply chain without added friction,” said Raquel Urtasun, founder and CEO of Waabi, in the release. “Together with Volvo, we are leading autonomous trucking forward. The Volvo VNL Autonomous, powered by the Waabi Driver, is the next step in ushering in a stronger, safer, and more efficient era in transportation.”
The integration combines Waabi’s self-driving software with Volvo’s autonomous-ready hardware.
Waabi’s system is an interpretable, verifiable end-to-end AI model capable of generalization, enabling it to safely and quickly scale autonomous driving across different geographies, including highways and general surface streets. This enables commercial operations that are scalable and can work within existing logistics operations. Meanwhile, Volvo’s VNL Autonomous is a truck, purpose-built for autonomy with redundancies or back-up systems for safety-critical functions such as braking, steering and communication.
“Partnerships like the one between Volvo Autonomous Solutions and Waabi play an important role not only in advancing autonomous technology, but also in building the broader ecosystem required to support commercial deployment,” said Nils Jaeger, president of Volvo Autonomous Solutions. “Autonomy has the potential to address some of the biggest challenges in the transport industry, including safety, efficiency, and capacity. By working together, we are laying the groundwork for a more resilient future for freight.”
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