Autonomous vehicle company Aurora Innovation, Inc. is gearing up for the commercial launch of driverless truck operations in Texas later this year.
By the end of the year, Pennsylvania-headquartered Aurora will deploy a fleet of 20 driverless trucks to haul commercial freight on I-45 between Houston and Dallas, ABC News reports. Within the next few years, the company hopes to deploy thousands of driverless trucks on U.S. roadways.
Aurora recently opened specialty terminals in South Dallas and Houston to support the coming I-45 autonomous trucking lane. The terminals allow the company to house, maintain, prepare, inspect, and deploy autonomous trucks between destinations.
Introducing Aurora’s commercial-ready terminal to support its planned driverless truck lane between Dallas and Houston.
The new Houston terminal is designed to optimize the time autonomous trucks spend on the road hauling freight, leading to increased safety and more efficient… pic.twitter.com/Nio1UCf2kH
— Aurora (@aurora_inno) November 1, 2023
In November 2023, Aurora announced that the company is hauling more than 75 loads per week between Dallas and Houston and operating day and night for pilot customers, but this lane will not be fully autonomous until late 2024. Aurora’s pilot customers include FedEx, Werner, Hirschbach, and Uber Freight.
“Opening a driverless trucking lane flanked by commercially-ready terminals is an industry-first that unlocks our ability to launch our driverless trucking product,” said Sterling Anderson, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer at Aurora. “With this corridor’s launch, we’ve defined, refined, and validated the framework for the expansion of our network with the largest partner ecosystem in the autonomous trucking industry.”
In addition to the terminals, Aurora is also readying a Command Center staffed by specialists who will monitor the driverless trucks as well as dispatchers who will oversee the deployment of trucks and trailers.
