Aurora Preps for Commercial Autonomous Truck Hauls
Aurora has been making efforts to inch toward making its autonomous truck solution commercial-ready in Texas with the debut of a terminal and system updates.
On a daily basis, the terminal – located in Palmer, Texas – deploys autonomous trucks between Dallas and Houston.
Photo: Aurora
2 min to read
Aurora has opened what it calls a “commercial-ready” terminal for autonomous trucks just south of Dallas. The terminal deploys autonomous trucks pulling freight for Aurora’s pilot fleet customers, including FedEx, Schneider and Uber Freight.
Ad Loading...
On a daily basis, the terminal – located in Palmer, Texas – deploys autonomous trucks between Dallas and Houston. This terminal will serve as the “blueprint” for the company’s future network of terminals.
Ad Loading...
As the company prepares for the commercial launch of Aurora Horizon, its autonomous trucking service, the company envisions leveraging a network of terminals to house, maintain, prepare, inspect, and deploy autonomous trucks between destinations.
In case you were wondering, we've doubled our weekly hauls for pilot customers and are helping to autonomously deliver thousands of packages per week. pic.twitter.com/XMmT7ehBNP
sensor calibration ranges, high-speed data offload, and launching and landing zones.
fueling and weigh stations to enable autonomous trucks to continuously drive without additional stops.
On-site maintenance
The autonomous truck terminal includes sensor calibration ranges, fueling and on-site maintenance.
Photo: Aurora
Aurora Prepares System for Commercial-Launch
Over the last 18 months, Aurora has released dozens of capabilities through six Aurora Driver Beta updates, incrementally increasing the Aurora Driver’s autonomous performance, safety, and reliability in pilot hauls.
Ad Loading...
Now, Aurora Driver has been deemed “feature complete,” meaning the company has introduced the final driving capabilities needed to commercially haul freight without vehicle operators between Dallas and Houston by the end of 2024, including:
Identifying and responding to collisions with other vehicles or property. For example, when the Aurora Driver detects that it has been in a collision, like a sideswipe, it will come to a safe stop and notify a Command Center Specialist.
Detecting and responding to “out of design domain” scenarios. In situations such as extreme and unexpected weather events, the Aurora Driver will notify a Command Center Specialist, who can instruct it and the rest of the fleet on how to proceed.
Aurora has opened what it calls a “commercial-ready” terminal for autonomous trucks just south of Dallas.
The company now enters its final phase of refinement and validation ahead of launch of driverless operations on a lane from Dallas to Houston. Aurora will fine-tune the systems capabilities to optimize autonomous performance. The company expects validation to close by the end of 2023.
In parallel, the company will continue to mature its operations as pilot load volume is expected to increase to 100 loads per week by the end of 2023. Aurora is currently hauling 50 customer loads a week across its two commercial routes.
Aurora also expects its Houston terminal to be ready for commercial operation in the third quarter of the year.
SAF-Holland reengineered the UltraLite40 Slider for the ULX40 Mechanical Sliding Suspension and Axle System to reduce weight, improve durability, extend trailer life, and increase payload efficiency.
Volvo Trucks North America highlighted new connectivity, safety tech and production investments at TMC. The OEM also signaled that a new heavy-haul flagship tractor is coming soon.
The company’s expanded EPEQ ecosystem includes flexible solar panels, lithium batteries, hydraulic power systems, and a portable fast charger for electric trucks.
Phillips Connect Smart Trailer enhancements give fleets deeper operational insights from trailers -- even when another provider supplies basic GPS tracking.
New approval for Valvoline Premium Blue One Solution Gen2 allows fleets running Cummins X15 engines to extend oil drain intervals by up to 25,000 miles -- reaching intervals as high as 100,000 miles.
Peterson’s Genesis lighting system and repairable J560 connector target two persistent fleet problems: LED light failures and costly electrical connector downtime.
Many fleets extended truck replacement cycles during recent market disruptions. But holding equipment too long can lead to higher repair costs, longer downtime, and new operational risks.
