Moderation Team
While it gears up for the commercial launch of its autonomous driver-as-a-service subscription model come 2023, Pittsburgh-based Aurora Innovation Inc. (NASDAQ: AUR) announced a new partnership with truckload carrier U.S. Xpress (NYSE: USX) to further fine-tune the Aurora Horizon product.
With Aurora Horizon, trucking companies will be able to subscribe to Aurora’s autonomous vehicle platform, which is driven physically and technically by the Aurora Driver — the complete set of cameras, sensors and computers that enable trucks to drive on their own.
According to Aurora, this new partnership will allow the AV company to more efficiently deploy its Aurora Horizon product at a commercial scale, which Aurora said will hopefully lead to a future where goods are transported by human- and autonomously-driven trucks together.
“Aurora carefully designs its industry collaborations to enhance the value and maximize the impact our product can deliver for our partners’ businesses,” Sterling Anderson, Aurora’s co-founder and chief product officer, said in a release. “U.S. Xpress not only shares our commitment to safety, efficiency, and realizing the benefits of technology for good, but has leaned into it in a big way. We’re excited to partner with them to deliver the benefits of this transformative technology for their business, their people and the people they serve.”
As for U.S. Xpress, the company hopes to use Aurora’s technology on its digitally enabled fleet called Variant in the hopes it will be able to better identify where autonomous technology can have the greatest impact on the organization. This will include exploring the possibility of finding ways to enhance U.S. Xpress’ dispatching and routing systems following the launch of Aurora Horizon.
“The future of trucking will involve innovative technology that Aurora is developing, which is why we’re collaborating now to assure we’re first to market with autonomous trucks,” Eric Fuller, president and CEO of U.S. Xpress, said in a release. “Professional truck drivers will always have a place with our company, while autonomous trucks will supplement and help provide much-needed capacity to the supply chain.”
Aurora’s partnership with U.S. Xpress is the latest of several recently announced collaborations with other players in the trucking industry that could stand to benefit from AV technology.
In mid-December, Aurora announced it picked up a new multiphase commercial pilot with Uber Freight, a logistics and supply chain management division of Uber Technologies Inc. (NYSE: UBER), to further test and implement Aurora’s autonomous trucking technology. It also announced a similar deal with FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) and Washington-based truck manufacturer Paccar Inc. (NASDAQ: PCAR) in September.
Aurora first announced its commercial subscription model plans in October less than a month before its public debut on the Nasdaq stock exchange. While its Aurora Horizon service will be for the trucking industry and its needs for goods delivery, the Aurora Connect service will be deployed for ride-hailing purposes on passenger vehicles starting in 2024.
The company employs 1,600 workers across the country, the majority of whom reside in Pittsburgh.
Source: www.bizjournals.com
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