Pittsburgh strip Formerly the home of industrial giants Alcoa, Heinz, US Steel and Westinghouse, the district has evolved into a technology and robotics hub, especially a testbed for self-driving cars, over the last decade. The activity recently spread across Smallman Street, the so-called Robotics Row, across the border between the Strip District and Lower Lawrenceville, to the north-south adjoining region.
Argo AI, Aurora Innovation (and the newly acquired Uber ATG), and Motional are also the most visible examples of self-driving car testing and development in the city, but many other AV startups in the last six years. Has appeared. One bet that the application will provide the fastest path to commercialization.
Locomation, a startup working on autonomous trucks founded in 2018, is one of them. Co-founder, A person I met at the National Robotics Engineering Center, the governing body of Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute, said that the smoothest and fastest route to autonomous trucks is to use a human-guided convoy system first. believe.
Locomation argues that autonomous trucks that can be driven without the need for a safe human driver will eventually occur after considerable verification. But until then, the company has touted a convoy system in which the chief driver steers a truck and another truck autonomously tracks it. Autonomous people also have drivers, but they are resting and are considered passengers.
“We decided we needed to expose our (autonomous) system to the real world in a safe and profitable way,” co-founder and CEO Çetin Meriçli told TechCrunch in a recent interview that humans guide it. He added that it was an autonomous idea to do. Driving has started. “We are still building a Level 4 system with a very narrow operational design domain that can drive itself, and as long as there is a human-driven lead truck just before that, no driver is needed in the seat. “
The starting point for Locomation is a two-driver, two-track system for long-haul routes. When there is a lead driver, the next driver is resting in another vehicle. Both trucks are equipped with an autonomous driving system that allows them to be repositioned on a regular basis. However, Meriçli said the autonomous system only assists people while the chief driver is manipulating the vehicle.
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“There are some automations out there, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to automate the lead track so that the lead driver is really happy,” he said. “Keeping the driver fully involved while trying to reduce the cognitive load as much as possible is a very delicate balance to get there.”
Upon exiting the interstate highway, the driver will take over manual driving.
The next phase is what Locomation calls a drone follower system designed for short-haul routes of 250 miles or less. The system includes one driver and two trucks, one autonomously leading and the other trailing.
These two human-guided convoy concepts proceed to an autonomous system in which trucks operate without humans between interstate hubs and eventually dock to docks that include non-interstate roads. Useful for.
Locomation has signed a contract to equip 1,120 Wilson Logistics trucks with autonomous relay convoy technology over the next five years. The first truck will be delivered in 2022. The company recently signed an eight-year contract to supply PGT trucks with systems for 1,000 trucks.
Today, Locomation is in test mode, but carries some cargo. In other words, the safety driver is always holding the steering wheel. Eventually it went into commercial operation, and Meri Kuri said the company is aiming to launch in the second half of 2022.
To reach that goal, Locomation is doing what many others are aiming for: raising money, hiring and expanding. Locomation, which currently operates across the Allegheny River from the Strip district of Pittsburgh, will soon move to a larger facility in the Tech Forge section.
Mericli said there are at least 20 startups in Pittsburgh working on self-driving car technology.
“Most of them are small holes in wall manipulation, probably a few people,” said Meri Kuri. Many of them are actually 2nd or 3rd generation. They started their careers in one of these big companies, worked there for years, identified some issues, were dissatisfied with the slow progress, or were bitten by entrepreneurial bugs. .. “
“It’s still quite different from Silicon Valley,” Meri Kuri said, adding that it’s approaching the technological center of the West Coast. “What I’m seeing here wasn’t a few years ago, but now it’s some role models, some success stories, and some big performers like Argos and Aurora in the world. Hopefully, Locomation is also climbing those ladders. Today, young people and new entrepreneurs born from the CMU ecosystem, their ideas about their businesses and aspirations are closer to those of Silicon Valley. “
Pittsburgh’s Locomation puts a convoy twist on autonomous trucking – TechCrunch Source link Pittsburgh’s Locomation puts a convoy twist on autonomous trucking – TechCrunch