An autonomous trucking firm has racked up over 350 deliveries out of DFW even as COVID-19 changed plans

Kodiak Robotics, an autonomous trucking company, last year opened a hub in the Dallas area for running deliveries with its fleet.

Yet that technology got put on hold as the pandemic made social-distancing crucial – and that meant its two-person set up in vehicles just didn’t work. But instead of parking the trucks, the company did something more traditional: it relied on manual, human drivers.

“Given the increased demand for groceries, paper goods and other products, we made the decision to actually increase the number of loads we carry for our commercial customers, albeit in manual mode,” Daniel Goff, head of Policy for Kodiak, said in an emailed message.

Now, as Texas is reopening, Kodiak is in the process of resuming on-road testing operations out of its operations hub in Lancaster. It’s using precautions, in accordance with state and national policies, including protective equipment and other measures. With the two-person teams, a safety driver watches the road and manages the vehicle, while a system operator monitors system intentions and communicates them to the other person.

Overall, it’s done over 350 deliveries out of the local site for the company that’s based in Mountain View, Calif.

Kodiak – along with others in the Dallas area and beyond – is looking to change the way the trucking industry handles shipping and deliveries in a market that’s crucial to the U.S. economy. It’s a company started with industry veterans – and has raised tens of millions of dollars from some of the bigger names in venture capital in the Silicon Valley.

The company uses its Lancaster hub for starting and ending its trips. The company, which has about 10 workers, has kept a 100 percent on-time delivery record.

And work has continued on the driverless tech.

“On the development side, while we believe on-road testing is critical, we have nonetheless remained productive during shelter-in-place,” Goff said. “First, much of our development work takes place in simulation. Additionally, we have been able to collect valuable data when operating the truck in manual mode.”

Source: www.bizjournals.com