Aurora has launched the second-generation of its driverless trucks, and has stated plans to deploy the new fleet across its commercial network, which currently encompasses 10 driverless routes throughout the US Sun Belt.
The company deployed Class 8 trucks powered by the Aurora Driver on public roads last year and, as of the end of June, the Aurora Driver has completed almost 440,000 driverless miles.
Aurora recently received an order for 500 Aurora Driver-powered trucks from an undisclosed customer, underscoring the company’s significant commercial momentum.
Chris Urmson, CEO and co-founder of Aurora said:Last year’s driverless launch proved our technology could operate safely on public roads – our new platform now provides the foundation to deliver at scale.
Deploying our second-generation truck allows us to put hundreds of autonomous trucks on the road and ultimately into the hands of more customers.
The new fleet, based on the International® LT® Series vehicle, is powered by Aurora’s next-generation hardware, which has been built to last one million miles. Prior to launch, Aurora closed its Safety Case, its established bar for operations on public roads without a person behind the wheel, for both the new truck and hardware.
Meanwhile, Roush, a premier product development supplier, is installing redundant systems and integrating Aurora’s next-generation hardware into new trucks at a production facility dedicated to the company. Both parties have also formalised an upfit process, positioning Roush to reach an annual production run-rate of 1,000 Aurora trucks later this year.
Urmson added:By working with a world-class manufacturing partner like Roush, we can meet our customer demand and continue to make the movement of goods safer and more efficient across the country.
