IKEA and Kodiak Robotics announced a partnership agreement to start a pilot autonomous freight forwarding program in Texas.
A heavy-duty truck with a Kodiak autonomous drive system will make daily deliveries from the IKEA warehouse to the nearest store
The journey between the distribution warehouse and the store is approximately 300 miles one way. The truck will be equipped with a Kodiak autonomous drive system with a human safety driver on board.
“Adopting autonomous trucking technology can improve drivers’ quality of life by focusing on the local driving jobs most prefer to do,” Kodiak Robotics CEO Don Burnette said. âTogether [with IKEA] we can enhance safety, improve working conditions for drivers, and create a more sustainable freight transportation system.â
This is not the first time Kodiak has tested the autonomous drive system they have developed. Since 2019, the company has been running shuttles independently in Texas and and recently opened a new route between Dallas and Oklahoma City.
Kodiak has previously conducted trials with logistics giants Werner Enterprises and US Xpress.
Favorable regulations in Texas allow for testing of autonomous trucks. In addition, the long stretch of highway is ideal for testing automation.
Waymo had previously been testing its fleet of self-driving Freightliner semitrucks on the route between Dallas and Houston for several months.
Another autonomous truck startup Aurora Innovation has also tested the truck in Texas. Another startup, TuSimple, has been testing self-driving semitrucks in Arizona and plans to expand to Texas next year.
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