Volvo’s deliberate AV community recruits its first service
Dive Transient:
- Volvo Autonomous Options, which seeks to supply driverless tech companies, has recruited its first service, dry van TL supplier Ascend, to its reservation program, Volvo introduced final month.
- Volvo is constructing an autonomous freight community that can initially run in Texas from Houston to Dallas and Dallas-Fort Value to El Paso. Its reservation program is for shippers, carriers, logistics suppliers and brokers.
- “By signing up, Ascend could have secured place to buy autonomous freight capability as soon as it turns into accessible,” Volvo stated. The collaboration additionally features a technical and operational pre-study work to onboard the service to the community.
Dive Perception:
Advocates of the tech observe autonomous vans may serve long-haul freight whereas drivers shift to shorter distances.
Volvo’s service, for example, might be used for extra capability, protecting drivers nearer to dwelling or bettering highway security, in line with Nils Jaeger, president of Volvo Autonomous Options.
Accordingly, the initiative in Texas is slated to shift how drivers work, amongst different adjustments. Becoming a member of Volvo’s AV community will help Ascend’s efforts to remodel the regional TL sector by leveraging know-how, constructing density and providing driver-friendly routes and insurance policies, Ascend Devoted President Scott Stowers stated in one other information launch.
Beneath Volvo’s mannequin, Ascend Devoted will haul buyer masses to hubs in Dallas and Houston, the place the products will probably be transferred to autonomous vans to finish a long-haul run, stated Andy McGowan, a spokesperson for the service. Ascend drivers will then choose up the products at one other hub for supply to their vacation spot.
Different partnerships with the Volvo Group firm embody Uber Freight and DHL Provide Chain Options — each launched final yr — and Aurora, which unveiled a driverless VNL mannequin prototype with Volvo Autonomous Options in 2021.
Volvo isn’t alone when it comes to OEMs sizing up autonomous truck potential. Navistar and TuSimple had an association to supply absolutely autonomous semi-trucks by 2024 however ended the transfer final December. The producer famous it wasn’t giving up on the know-how, although.
In the meantime, Daimler Vans acquired a majority stake in Torc Robotics in 2019 to develop self-driving vans.
“Bringing a protected Stage 4 autonomous truck to market is in no way a easy job,” Torc CEO Peter Vaughan Schmidt stated final October. “Over the previous three years, we now have benefited from the sturdy collaboration with Daimler Truck, bringing us considerably nearer to our aim of creating a extremely optimized self-driving truck that can meet the fleets’ wants for price, security, and efficiency.”
