At the Manifest supply chain technology showcase, ISEE, an autonomous vehicle company, unveiled its fully automated, AI-powered trailer auto-coupling system for autonomous yard trucks.

ISEE’s technology autonomously couples the trailer and connects the airlines without any trailer modifications, adapters, markers, or remote control.

AI-Enabled Robotic Arms

The ISEE trailer auto-coupling system integrates a six-axis robotic arm on the back of the autonomous yard truck cab. Using AI-powered auto-coupling technology, the system autonomously identifies the precise locations and orientations of the trailer air connectors for both the service and parking brakes.

Because gladhands can vary in location, orientation and type from one trailer to another. This makes the process of finding and attaching them a challenging task for a robotic system.

By leveraging experience and data from over 10,000 operational moves in customer sites, ISEE’s AI-powered system is trained to precisely identify and connect the airbrake lines autonomously. This eliminates the necessity for remote control or attaching extra adapters to the trailers.

Efficiency and Safety Enhancements

Automating the trailer coupling process eliminates the need for staff to manually couple and decouple trailer airlines, ISEE said in a press release. This significantly enhances safety and simplifies management, the company added.

ISEE cited U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that almost 30% of injuries in the trucking industry occur when drivers slip or fall while working. Stepping outside the cab to perform tasks such as connecting the trailer air lines poses a risk, including slippery steps and the cab's average height of four feet from the ground. The company said its system can help reduce the number of injuries by allowing its automated system to perform those tasks.

“Our latest AI-powered trailer auto-coupling technology leverages generative AI models for data augmentation and feature generation. This technology adopts an end-to-end approach to train gladhand type and pose in a consistent fashion, ensuring adaptability and versatility in our AI systems across diverse gladhand variations and environmental conditions,” said Yibiao Zhao, ISEE CEO and co-founder. “The robot arm is adept at attaching and detaching the gladhands, skillfully locating and handling them in any position, akin to human dexterity.”

The new AI-powered trailer auto-coupling technology augments ISEE’s existing, auto-coupling solution that customers are using today, the company said.

The existing solution uses a trailer adapter that standardizes various trailer connectors in a consistent location across the trailer fleet. These adapters can be clipped onto trailers as they enter the yard and are removed when the trailer departs.

As a result, ISEE said customers can now choose which level of trailer automation they prefer, making its solution a good for both customers who control their fleet or utilize a captive pool of trailers for their campus.