Monday, November 13, 2017
Robot Trucks Now Hauling Appliances To Palm Springs
Watch out, truckers! Appliance maker Frigidaire and robotic truck technology maker Embark, along with commercial fleet management provider Ryder Systems revealed late Sunday evening that they have been using automated, robotic trucks to deliver loads of appliances from El Paso, Texas, across the I-10, to a handoff point in Palm Springs, as a pilot of a Level 2 automated trucking system. According to the three companies, they have been moving Frigidaire refrigerators 650 miles at a time using automated driving technology since October. The robot systems are only being used on the freeway; the companies said that, for now, human drivers are navigating local streets, and that a human driver also is currently managing the transportation leg between Palm Springs and Ontario, California, where Frigidaire's warehouse is locate. The three companies said that the Level 2 systems currently have a properly licensed driver ready to take over in the event of any issues, but that it is moving towards a future of fully autonomous trucks for highway operation. The three also plan on increasing the number of robotic trucks they are using in the experiment. Embark's CEO, Alex Rodriguez, claims the use of its robot systems will "creating new local driving jobs" for drivers, claiming that the trucking industry doesn't have enough young drivers to replace the older drivers who are retiring.