Trucks have passed cars on their way to autonomy

But nowadays, trucks seem like a more attractive bet. According to the American Trucking Association, carriers paid $ 791 billion in 2019 to transport goods by truck; in contrast, Aurora estimates the annual market for $ 35 billion in vehicles. Technology developers argue that if they reduce the cost of shipping they can maintain a reduction in savings. “Clearly the need for robotics in dense cities, but outside of dense cities, where everyone has their own car, you have to create demand,” says Asad Hussain, who studies mobility companies on the PitchBook.

Those in charge of self-driving trucks said their technologies will save them money. Embark says its self-driving technology, which it expects to sell to fleet operators as a subscription, will save 80 cents per mile, halving costs compared to human-driven trucks. Robots, after all, don’t have to pay and they don’t need a break. They will not leave, saving labor shortages. And robots have no unity. Human drivers can continue to manage short-haul truck jobs, the company says, a more localized job that will allow them to spend more time at home than on the road.

The Plus company, which is testing self-driving trucks in China and the US, says its first trucks will help human drivers do their job more safely, and collect data as they go. Finally, around 2024, the company expects to put this data into action when the man gets out of the car. The process “will take some time,” says David Liu, founder and CEO.

The union is skeptical. “Embracing technology as a cure for the problems that plague the industry is not a lack of branding,” says Sam Loesche, chief legislator and political representative of the International Gangs.

Some recent investors ’hopes reflect the new importance of logistics among the pandemic-related disruptions, including traffic jams in ports and this led to a shortage of drivers delivery delays. “It’s the Amazon effect, because everyone felt comfortable clicking everything on a button,” says Jim Scheinman, managing partner of seed-venture venture capital firm Maven Ventures, which has invested in Embark.

Investors ’passion follows the rapid collaboration between technology developers and traditional truckers and hauliers. Embark is working with large carriers like HP and ABInBev and carriers like Werner Enterprises and Knight-Swift Transportation. TuSimple is working on pilots with UPS and is working on a custom-made vehicle with Navistar truck manufacturer. She is working with Aurora Paccar and Volvo truck builders. All of this seems to have convinced the money that the trucks they drive are the real deal.

However, there is still no real driverless truck, and it may never be. Self-driving trucks offer an attractive safety option; driving trucks is one of the deadliest jobs in the US, According to the Department of Labor“But moving an 80,000-pound missile at 70 mph can do a lot of damage.” Because self-driving trucks are so heavy and run faster than cars on city streets, they need to be able to see farther from the road, which is no small feat. So far, companies have held limited demonstrations pilots their technology, but they all had safety drivers in the cab.

Unlike self-driving car companies lost many self-established terms, truck companies have not yet had enough time to fail. “Maybe when the deadlines are extended or there are breakdowns, investors will say,‘ Oh, how come it’s not delivered? Why aren’t you on the right track? ”Says Bruno Bowden, an engineer who worked at Aurora and is now an angel investor. (She has Aurora’s involvement.) The technology is getting cleaner; one day, investors might as well.

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