Korean Autonomous-Truck Company Sets up Shop in Texas

Autonomous technology developer Mars Auto is entering the U.S. market, with headquarters in Round Rock, Texas, near Austin.

Mars Auto is an autonomous vehicle technology developer based in South Korea; it decided to enter the U.S. market in 2024, initially setting up shop in Dallas, Texas.

So far, Mars has retrofitted three trucks in Texas with its autonomous driving system.

In a press release, the company called the decision to move to Round Rock a “strategic move” that is part of its ongoing commitment to driving innovation and enhancing its presence in key technological hubs across the United States.

A Camera-Centric AI Control System

In Korea, Mars Auto started its first autonomous pilot program in 2020. That was followed by the first commercial operation of its autonomous trucks in 2023. Since then, the company said it has been the only commercial long-haul autonomous freight shipper in Korea.

In 2024, the company decided to expand its fleet to the American market.

Mars Auto is focused on completely automating middle-mile logistics. The company uses self-driving long-haul trucks controlled by a camera-centric AI model. The trucks use a hub-to-hub model to automate long-haul freight shipping for companies requiring long highway stretches.

In a blog post on Medium last last year, Mars' Cong Ji explained how the company is addressing the fact that truck vehicle dynamics will differ depending on model, specs, load, etc.

"With a carefully designed hybrid machine learning sensor fusion algorithm, our system can reliably estimate the payload weight (without the weight sensor, or the tire pressure measurements), external disturbances such as the road bank, and road slope, as well as the truck's internal factors such as the steering wheel offset, steering wheel delay, etc on the fly during the driving," he explained.

Ilsu Park, CEO of Mars Auto, said expanding its operations to Round Rock "aligns with our vision to lead the autonomous vehicle industry and contribute to the local economy by creating job opportunities and fostering innovation."