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The two companies are expanding their partnership to include deliveries made using the company's fleet of Class 8 trucks. Previously, the companies only conducted local deliveries using self-driving minivans, but now they will work together on longer-distance freight hauling.
Texas is where the hub for the semi-trailer trucks will be built. The freight hauling between Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston will be done by the two companies until the end of the year. During the trial process, the companies will gather data on safety and efficiency.
Gathering data with an eye on safety and efficiency.
The fifth generation of the "Driver" is being tested by the company, which uses a combination of hardware, sensors, and software on its fleet of Class 8 trucks. Daimler, the parent company of Mercedes-Benz, is continuing its work with the company on a Level 4 system for trucks, as well as working with the company to haul freight along several interstates in Texas.
Less attention has been paid to the company's stated plans to eventually launch a commercial freight hauling business, despite the fact that much of the public's focus has been on the company's self-driving minivans. The Peterbilt trucks that are being tested by Waymo have been retrofitted with self-driving software and are currently being tested in Arizona, California, and Texas.
Two employees of the company, a software engineer and a commercially licensed driver, sit in the cab of the trucks while they operate autonomously during tests and commercial deliveries. Since the beginning of the year, the company has been working on self-driving trucks and plans to eventually launch a full-scale freight hauling and delivery service called Waymo Via.
It is an opportunity for the company to realize a vision for the future where some of its delivery vehicles are electric, autonomously, or aerial drones. In addition to TuSimple, a startup, the company has conducted tests with self-driving trucks. It said it would buy 10,000 electric delivery vans from a UK startup.
