Autonomous

About Autonomous News...

Autonomous technologies now drive significant change in trucking and freight transportation. Transport Topics autonomous coverage provides a comprehensive look at that change. It provides the latest details on deployment concepts such as advanced driver-assist systems, transfer hubs, teleoperations, platooning and off-road automation and latest analysis of the companies who are manufacturing, adopting and investing in these technologies. Readers can follow the impact such deployment has on everything from policy and infrastructure initiatives to highway congestion, fuel consumption, fleet management, driver management and business investment.

Business, Technology, Fuel, Autonomous

First Electric Freightliner eCascadia Models Enter Freight Operations at NFI, Penske

YOUNTVILLE, Calif. — Daimler Trucks North America has handed over its first two battery-electric Freightliner eCascadia models to NFI and Penske Truck Leasing for use in their daily freight operations.

Seth Clevenger | Managing Editor, Features and Multimedia
August 22, 2019
Business, Technology, Autonomous

With New Funding, Startup PlusAI Set to Unveil Level 2 Driverless Vehicles

Sequoia Capital-backed PlusAI Inc. is close to raising about $200 million in new funds at a valuation of more than $1 billion to bankroll its development in autonomous trucks, according to people familiar with the matter.

August 21, 2019
Business, Technology, Autonomous

Waymo to Test Autonomous Vehicles in Rainy Florida

Google autonomous vehicle spinoff Waymo says it will start testing on public roads in Florida to better experience heavy rain.

August 20, 2019
Business, Technology, Autonomous

UPS Invests in TuSimple to Pursue Self-Driving Trucks

UPS Inc. announced its venture capital arm, UPS Ventures, has made a minority investment in autonomous driving company TuSimple to test self-driving tractor-trailers on a route in Arizona to determine whether the vehicles can improve service and efficiency in the UPS network.

Roger Gilroy | Senior Reporter
August 15, 2019
Government, Business, Technology, Fuel, Autonomous, TCA

New North Carolina Law Means Electric Vehicles Can Pay for Power

A new North Carolina law allows the operators of publicly available electric car charging stations to make drivers pay for how much electricity they get when they charge their car batteries.

Paul Woolverton | Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer
August 14, 2019
Business, Technology, Equipment, Autonomous

Automated Transmissions Shift Into High Gear

Manual transmissions in Class 8 trucks once reigned among fleets and seasoned drivers, but they now represent a minority that is rapidly shrinking.

Katie Pyzyk | Special to Transport Topics
August 13, 2019
Business, Technology, Logistics, Autonomous

Loadsmart, Starsky Robotics Dispatch Autonomous Truck Automatically

Loadsmart and Starsky Robotics said the companies have automatically dispatched an autonomous truck to haul freight.

August 12, 2019
Government, Technology, Safety, Autonomous

Tesla Scrutinized by NHTSA Over Model 3 Safety Claims

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration sent Tesla Inc.’s Elon Musk a cease-and-desist letter last year regarding Model 3 safety claims and has subpoenaed the carmaker for information on several crashes, according to documents posted by a nonprofit advocacy group.

Dana Hull and Ryan Beene | Bloomberg News
August 7, 2019
Business, Technology, Equipment, Autonomous

Scout, Amazon’s Self-Driving Delivery Robot, Heads to California

Amazon said Aug. 6 that its six-wheeled self-driving robots, about the size of a smaller cooler, will begin delivering packages to customers in Irvine, Calif., after testing them in a suburb of Seattle earlier this year.

Joseph Pisani | Associated Press
August 6, 2019
Government, Business, Technology, Safety, Autonomous

FMCSA, NHTSA Extend Comment Window on Automated Driving Systems

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are extending the public comment period meant to gather input on automated driving systems.

Eleanor Lamb | Staff Reporter
July 29, 2019