Daimler Trucks buys majority stake in robotics company to develop self-driving trucks

Daimler AG Daimler Trucks said Monday it has bought a majority stake in Torc Robotics, a Virginia company developing technology for self-driving vehicles.

Daimler said in January it would hire 200, mostly at its North American headquarters in Portland, to develop self-driving semis. The company hopes to have trucks with a significant level of automation on the road by 2030.

Daimler didn’t say how much it is paying for Torc, which employs about 100, or just how much of the company it will own. Daimler said it will pair Torc’s software with its own hardware technology.

“Torc’s Level 4 system has been shown to operate well for both urban and highway driving in rain, snow, fog, and sunshine,” Roger Nielsen, CEO of Daimler Trucks North America, said in a written statement.

The companies said Torc will remain a separate company operating under its own brand from its existing offices in Virginia. Torc has about 100 employees.

While many cars and trucks already have some level of safety-oriented automation, such as technology that helps keep vehicles in their lane on the highway, fully autonomous vehicles appear many years away.

Daimler has been vague about just what it expects from its autonomous vehicles, saying only it wants “Level 4” automation by 2030. Industry descriptions suggest that might describe trucks that could drive themselves on the highway between far-flung destinations, but would still require drivers on hand to take over in emergencies or to navigate within cities.

Source: www.oregonlive.com