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VW-owned Navistar begins autonomous trucking pilot
Mar
A subsidiary of Volkswagen-owned Traton, Navistar, has formally launched an autonomous trucking pilot program, in partnership with know-how firm Plus.
Navistar introduced the information in a press release on Tuesday, saying that the partnership with Plus to make use of its Stage 4 autonomous SuperDrive know-how stack into each its Worldwide model and others. The corporate says Internation vans that includes SuperDrive by Plus are already being validated in sure components of Texas, and the businesses count on buyer pilots to start inside a 12 months.
“Our autonomous business pilot program is meant to be a secure, dependable choice for patrons to discover the deployment and integration of autonomous autos into their operations,” stated Chet Ciesielski, Navistar’s Vice President of On-Freeway Enterprise. “As all the time, we’re dedicated to being a trusted accomplice as we search to develop options for autonomous driving know-how that improve our prospects’ working efficiencies, enhance street security, and alleviate strains within the provide chain.”
The corporate says it plans to incrementally improve its operations commercially alongside strategic U.S. corridors, using particular hub-to-hub operations in taking a look at autonomous implementation. Navistar additionally expects it’ll have an addressable market of roughly 25 billion miles of freight routes on U.S. interstates.
“There’s a sturdy enterprise case for autonomous know-how within the hub-to-hub distribution mannequin, particularly in long-haul transportation the place there’s a compelling alternative to extend operational efficiencies,” stated Tobias Glitterstam, Navistar Chief Technique and Transformation Officer. “International partnership with an organization like Plus permits us to leverage the technical strides they’ve made as we work collectively to give attention to the business viability of Stage 4 autonomous driving.”
In 2018, former Navistar CEO Troy Clarke said that the company expected to have more electric trucks on the road than Tesla by 2025, citing its greater than century-long historical past constructing semis.
Whereas Tesla Semi updates have been considerably dormant prior to now a number of months, the corporate has been engaged on expansions to its Gigafactory Nevada which might be anticipated to spice up Semi manufacturing. As well as, the Tesla Semi might finally have entry to the corporate’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) beta function, which can unlock the power for autonomous trucking from the corporate.
Different corporations, such because the Alphabet subsidiary Waymo, have additionally been piloting semi-autonomous trucking checks in restricted areas, together with freeways surrounding Phoenix, Arizona.
Waymo expanding autonomous driving tests to include freeways
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