Aurora to run driverless trucks from Dallas to Houston by the end of …

Completely driverless trucks could be tooling along Texas roads by the end of 2024.

Self-driving trucking firm Aurora announced Monday^[1] it has completed the final driving capabilities needed to begin sending driverless big rigs on a Dallas to Houston route.

So far, trucking firms testing the technology on pilot routes in Texas have used a safety driver in the front seat as a backstop to autonomous software. Aurora is working towards unveiling Aurora Horizon^[2], a plan to bring self-driving technology to freight logistics.

Aurora recently released its Aurora Driver Beta 6.0, which includes developments like FirstLight lidar^[3], the creation of the Aurora Virtual Testing Suite^[4] and the Aurora Atlas^[5], an HD mapping system.

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Chris Urmson, co-founder and CEO of Aurora, said in a statement that the company has made “foundational technology investments and strategic decisions” to reach this stage.

“We are now positioned to close our safety case for launch, the final step to achieving Aurora Driver Ready later this year,” Urmson said. “As we mature operations in advance of the launch of Aurora Horizon, our customers will continue to experience the value autonomy can bring to their businesses.”

Related:Aurora integrates driverless trucks with Uber Freight to haul between Dallas and Houston^[6]

Aurora launched with plans to work with Uber and Toyota^[7] to develop an autonomous vehicle for use with ride-sharing. In 2021, the company began working with Uber Freight’s logistics platform^[8] to haul shipments between Dallas and Houston.

In the company’s latest earnings^[9] report, company leaders reaffirmed Aurora was on track to deploy about 20 driverless trucks from Dallas to Houston by the end of 2024. The company expects that to increase to 100 loads per week.

A photo of an Aurora Horizon autonomous truck.(Aurora)

In January,^[10] Aurora named Ossa Fisher^[11], who had been president and chief operating officer of Istation, a Dallas firm that creates game-like educational technology^[12], its new president.

Aurora is currently hauling freight more than 30 times a week across Texas. It has freight-hauling partnerships with FedEx, Werner Enterprises, Schneider and Uber Freight^[13] on Texas routes from Dallas to El Paso and Dallas to Houston, according to an investor presentation^[14].

North Texas is a hot spot as a self-driving testing ground. Gatik^[15], Waymo^[16], Kodiak^[17] and TuSimple^[18] also have operations testing and transporting goods in Dallas-Fort Worth.

Related:Self-driving truck firm Aurora appoints Ossa Fisher as president^[19]

References

1. ^{^} Self-driving trucking firm Aurora announced Monday (ir.aurora.tech)
2. ^{^} Aurora Horizon (aurora.tech)
3. ^{^} FirstLight lidar (blog.aurora.tech)
4. ^{^} Aurora Virtual Testing Suite (blog.aurora.tech)
5. ^{^} Aurora Atlas (blog.aurora.tech)
6. ^{^} Aurora integrates driverless trucks with Uber Freight to haul between Dallas and Houston (www.dallasnews.com)
7. ^{^} Aurora launched with plans to work with Uber and Toyota (www.dallasnews.com)
8. ^{^} In 2021, the company began working with Uber Freight’s logistics platform (www.dallasnews.com)
9. ^{^} In the company’s latest earnings (d1io3yog0oux5.cloudfront.net)
10. ^{^} In January, (www.dallasnews.com)
11. ^{^} Ossa Fisher (www.linkedin.com)
12. ^{^} a Dallas firm that creates game-like educational technology (www.dallasnews.com)
13. ^{^} Uber Freight (www.dallasnews.com)
14. ^{^} an investor presentation (ir.aurora.tech)
15. ^{^} Gatik (www.dallasnews.com)
16. ^{^} Waymo (www.dallasnews.com)
17. ^{^} Kodiak (www.dallasnews.com)
18. ^{^} TuSimple (www.dallasnews.com)
19. ^{^} Self-driving truck firm Aurora appoints Ossa Fisher as president (www.dallasnews.com)