Starsky Robotics wants to fix long haul trucking, save jobs

Starsky Robotics wants to fix long haul trucking, save jobs

6 years ago
Anonymous $gIi3-PxxKB

https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/starsky-robotics-autonomous-trucking-future/

Starsky is doing a pretty good job of taking autonomous trucks out of the realm of the theoretical and getting them onto the road. Just this month, the company conducted the first ever fully unmanned autonomous truck drive on a public highway. Unmanned means unmanned too, there were no emergency drivers or engineers onboard. The truck traveled for 7 miles on a stretch of Florida highway, admittedly one that was dead-straight and empty, without incident. This test is the first of its kind.

Starsky has previously used manned but autonomous trucks to deliver aid in the wake of Hurricane Irma. One of its trucks on an aid trip was able to complete a 68-mile trip with no safety driver interventions. The thing that makes the Starsky approach a little different than that of some other autonomous trucking companies is that it's only focused on autonomy on the highway, where it's simpler to do cleanly and safely. For "first mile" and "last mile" portion of a truck's trip, a remote driver takes over and navigates the more complex city streets.