Aurora Innovation has successfully launched its commercial self-driving trucking service in Texas. Following the closure of its safety case, Aurora began regular driverless customer deliveries between Dallas and Houston this week.
To date, the Aurora Driver has completed over 1,200 miles (1931 km) without a driver. It is the first company to operate a commercial self-driving service with heavy-duty trucks on public roads, according to a news release. Aurora plans to expand its driverless service to El Paso, Texas and Phoenix, Arizona by the end of 2025.
“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,” Chris Urmson, CEO and co-founder of Aurora, said in the release. “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 Aurora Driver is an SAE L4 self-driving system that is the first to be deployed in long-haul trucking.
Aurora’s launch customers are Uber Freight and Hirschbach Motor Lines. Both companies have had long-standing supervised commercial pilots with Aurora.
“When Uber Freight and Aurora came together more than four years ago, we set out to transform the future of logistics — and today, that future is here,” said Lior Ron, Founder and CEO of Uber Freight. “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, and one we’re proud to lead alongside Aurora.”
Transforming an old school industry
“Aurora’s transparent, safety-focused approach to delivering autonomous technology has always given me confidence they’re doing this the right way,” said Richard Stocking, CEO of Hirschbach Motor Lines. “Transforming an old school industry like trucking is never easy, but we can’t ignore the safety and efficiency benefits this technology can deliver. Autonomous trucks aren’t just going to help grow our business – they’re also going to give our drivers better lives by handling the lengthier and less desirable routes.”
Prior to driverless operations, Aurora closed its safety case, which is how the company assembled evidence to show its product is acceptably safe for public roads. Safety cases are an essential tool for any company deploying autonomous vehicle technology as they promote transparency and build trust with regulators and the public.
Most U.S. states today allow for driverless vehicles, including Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. As Aurora opens new routes, it will continue to work with stakeholders to ensure there is visibility into the company’s progress.
Detecting pedestrians in the dark
The Aurora Driver is equipped with a computer and sensors that can see beyond the length of four football fields, enabling it to safely operate on the highway, the release stated. In over four years of supervised pilot hauls, the Aurora Driver has delivered over 10,000 customer loads across three million (4.8 million) autonomous miles. It has also demonstrated capabilities that include predicting red light runners, avoiding collisions and detecting pedestrians in the dark hundreds of meters away.
Aurora’s verifiable approach to autonomy blends powerful learning models with guardrails to help ensure the rules of the road are followed, like yielding for emergency vehicles.
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 safely operate without a human driver. The truck platform was validated and approved by Aurora for driverless operations on public roads.
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