Kodiak Robotics is collaborating with Werner Enterprises to establish an autonomous trucking lane and to showcase how efficiently autonomous trucks can be used with a transfer hub model at truckports.

The relationship started in August with a week-long pilot program in which a Kodiak truck, accompanied by a human safety driver at all times, completed four tours involving eight unique trips between Dallas and Lake City, Florida.

Werner Enterprises also joined Kodiak’s Partner Deployment Program, which helps carriers establish autonomous freight operations and seamlessly integrate the Kodiak Driver, Kodiak’s self-driving system, into their fleet.

During its pilot with Werner, Kodiak completed a total of 152 hours of driving time and achieved 100% on-time delivery performance. Werner had trailers ready for a Kodiak self-driving truck to pick up on both ends of the trip. Werner’s local drivers completed the first-mile pickups and last-mile deliveries. This truckport model maximizes the amount of time the autonomous Kodiak Driver spends driving.

“Working with Kodiak enables us to efficiently incorporate new technologies into our business while giving us a competitive edge,” said Werner Senior Vice President of Van/Expedited Chad Dittberner in a press release. “We’re eager to establish the hybrid model of drivers and ongoing autonomous lanes to create new and unparalleled levels of efficiency while staying focused on Werner’s value of putting safety first.”

The joint effort with Werner Enterprises is the most recent carrier relationship to be announced by Kodiak. Earlier this year, the company announced partnerships with U.S. Xpress, 10 Roads Express and CEVA Logistics. Werner Enterprises has also conducted autonomous pilots with TuSimple and Aurora.