From self-driving tech firm Aurora Innovation, the company announced it has entered the final phase of refinement for its autonomous technology ahead of the official launch of the driverless trucks. Aurora Innovation is the latest company to expand its presence in the region with self-driving trucks.
Its patented software has been updated over the last 18 months dozens of times it says, increasing autonomous performance, safety and reliability in pilot hauls for companies like FedEx, Werner, Schneider and Uber Freight. The latest update, Beta 6.0, unlocked two new capabilities: responding to a collision and responding to extreme weather events.
Pilot routes for the trucks have already begun in Texas with a safety driver in the front seat.
Leading up to the 2024 launch, the company will increase its pilot load volume to 100 loads per week by the end of this year. The launch of driverless commercial vehicles for Aurora will include an autonomous trucking subscription service dubbed, Aurora Horizon.
A company earnings report says Aurora will first launch 20 driverless trucks — without a person monitoring — from Dallas to Houston by the end of 2024 before increasing loads to 100 per week.
"From day one, we made foundational technology investments and strategic decisions that have helped us reach this pivotal moment," said Chris Urmson, co-founder and CEO at Aurora.
Aurora was founded in 2017 and has raised $2.9 billion from investors. It went public in 2021.
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