Kodiak Robotics, a Mountain View-based autonomous trucking company, has unveiled its latest fifth-generation self-driving technology, which comes with several improvements and a more sophisticated appearance. The hardware platform upgrades are said to bring both functional and aesthetic improvements.
One of the most significant changes is the removal of the roof-mounted center pod sensor suite. The front-facing LIDAR and cameras have been relocated to Kodiak’s proprietary SensorPods mounted on the sideview mirrors, resulting in a more streamlined and attractive appearance.
According to Kodiak, this change also brings several benefits, including faster upfitting and easier maintenance, with repairs taking as little as 10 minutes. By relocating the sensors, the company has made them more accessible, reducing the time and cost of integrating them into trucks.
In addition, the relocation of the sensors is said to offer better perception capability. The Luminar Iris LIDAR sensors can now deliver double the coverage to the Kodiak Driver automated driving system at long range.
Another safety benefit of the new technology is that the sensors are now at the same height as a human driver, offering a dual vantage point and providing redundancy and visibility on both sides of the cab.
Kodiak has also added an extra front-facing LIDAR and three new cameras, two of which cover blind spots. With these additions, the total number of sensors has increased from 14 to 18. The company has also increased GPU processing power by 130%, creating a more compelling proposition for customers, according to CEO Don Burnett.
Kodiak has collaborated with several partners for autonomous trucking pilots over the past year, including IKEA, US Xpress, and 10 Roads Express. The company operates autonomously on the highway portions of the routes, delivering freight for its customers along six routes in Texas, Oklahoma, and the Southeast.
Last December, Kodiak announced that it had secured a $50 million deal to develop software for off-road robotic vehicles to be used by the U.S. Army.