The goal of Aurora and its rivals is to have thousands of autonomous trucks using public roads in the United States within the next three to four years. The objective is to expedite the delivery of goods by permitting the trucks to run nearly nonstop.
In the US, driverless tractor-trailers are expected to be commonplace, with Pittsburgh-based Aurora Innovation Inc. spearheading the initiative.
The business has been using a three-lane track alongside the Monongahela River to test an eighteen-wheel self-driving truck. The truck can maneuver around obstructions like a trash can and a tyre in the road. With 20 driverless trucks, Aurora intends to begin shipping cargo on Interstate 45 between Dallas and Houston by the end of this year. The autonomous semi is outfitted with 25 laser, radar, and camera sensors.
Thousands of autonomous trucks are expected to be driving on public roads in the United States within the next three to four years, according to Aurora and its rivals. The objective is to expedite the delivery of goods by permitting the trucks to run nearly nonstop.
On the other hand, it might be concerning to think about an autonomous truck weighing 80,000 pounds traveling at 65 mph or higher on a superhighway. Sixty-six percent of Americans said in a recent AAA poll that they would be terrified to ride in an autonomous car.
In less than nine months, trucks equipped with Aurora’s systems will start transporting cargo for FedEx, Uber Freight, Werner, and other companies, despite these concerns. In Texas, where snow and ice are typically uncommon, the majority of businesses, including Aurora, intend to begin operating freight routes.
The future of ride-hailing in cities appears to have stalled at the point where we once thought autonomous vehicles would be the solution. The first AI-driven cars on public roads will likely be self-driving trucks, as Alphabet’s Waymo encounters opposition to its California expansion and General Motors’ Cruise robotaxi unit reels from a catastrophic crash.
Nevertheless, there are some concerns about this move. Federal regulation is lacking, so it is primarily up to the companies to ensure the safety of these unmanned lorries. Yet, automakers like Aurora claim that after years of testing, their autonomous cars are safer than those driven by humans.
They assert that the vehicles’ laser and radar sensors provide a level of awareness that surpasses that of the human eye, and that they are also immune to drugs, fatigue, and distraction. The CEO of Aurora, Chris Urmson, stated, “We want to be out there with thousands or tens of thousands of trucks on the road.” “And we need to be safe in order to accomplish that. The public will only accept it in this way. Sincerely, that’s the only way our clients will agree to it.”
On possible safety benefits, everyone is in agreement. Theoretically, autonomous freight trucks could improve traffic safety, according to Phil Koopman, a vehicle automation researcher at Carnegie Mellon University. He does caution that real-world performance ultimately depends on high-quality safety engineering and that computer errors are unavoidable.
Koopman expressed interest in learning how these companies will balance safety and profits, given that billions of dollars are at stake. He said, “It appears like they’re making an effort to act morally.” However, the details are where the devil is.
In a controlled environment, journalists watched as Aurora’s self-driving trucks expertly avoided simulated road hazards like pedestrians, a burst tire, and even a horse, recognizing them from more than a quarter of a mile away. Additionally, higher speed trials of these trucks with human safety drivers are being conducted on Texas highways.
Only three minor incidents have been reported since 2021, all of which have been linked to human safety drivers and involve Aurora’s self-driving trucks transporting freight safely over a million miles on public roads. Urmson claims that these incidents have all been caused by other drivers’ mistakes. There have been at least 13 incidents involving autonomous semis, three of which involved Aurora and involved other drivers at fault, according to a federal database that was started in June 2021.
According to information released by Urmson last month, the publicly traded company hopes to turn a profit by late 2027 or early 2028. This is contingent upon the company deploying thousands of trucks and collecting a per-mile fee from the transportation of freight. Urmson gave assurance that Aurora will not compromise safety in order to meet its financial targets, even in the face of profit pressure.
He said, “It kills everything else if we put a vehicle on the road that isn’t sufficiently safe, that we aren’t confident in its safety.” The company’s rivals, Plus.ai, Gatik, Kodiak Robotics, and others, have also made similar plans to deploy driverless cargo trucks on the roads in the near future.
While the others have not yet revealed their precise schedules, Gatik has made hints that this may occur this year or the next. Speaking out, Don Burnette, CEO of Kodiak, stated that he believed freeways provide a better environment for autonomous cars than cityscapes. This is because there are fewer pedestrians around, which means there are fewer unplanned events.
But at a mega-convenience store called Buc-Ee’salongI-45 south of Dallas, there’s a hint of fear attached to this technological advancement. Kent Franz, an Oklahoma high school basketball coach who has heard about incidents involving Tesla’s autonomous vehicles among other things, said, “It sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.”