Next year, Aurorinovation CEO Chris Ulmson wants to “unlock” the US Sunbelt, a southern route where self-driving trucks carry goods to companies such as Uber freight and Hirschbach Motorline.
Aurora, which launched unmanned commercial autonomous truck services this spring, has already made some progress towards that goal. The company reported in a second quarter letter to shareholders that there were three self-driving trucks operating commercially between Dallas and Houston, and by the end of June it had recorded more than 20,000 driverless smiles. According to the company, its commercially self-driving trucks have human “observers” in taxis and people who are not there to operate or intervene.
Aurora has also opened a terminal in Phoenix. Phoenix is another physical sign of the Sun Belt Truck Route mission. Aurora pilots autonomous transportation on a 15-hour route from the Fort Worth, Texas terminal to Phoenix and customers Hirschbach and Werner. The company’s terminals, which are within 1-5 miles of the highway, require unmanned trucks to handle exits and ground roads.
But it is the ability of the company to run at night that helps it push into new territory. Aurora said Wednesday it examined the ability of driverless trucks to navigate highways and roads on the night. This allows the track to travel longer distances. And, importantly, it’s past the federal mandatory service restrictions for traditional human drivers. Truck drivers are permitted to drive up to 11 hours over 14 hours. And they can’t do that every day. Truck drivers must also take a 10-hour break after completing their long routes.
“The value is really long, so 600 miles is certainly a good range and that’s the boundary of what’s possible for people,” Ulmson told TechCrunch in a recent interview, adding that he hopes the Aurora Truck will carry cargo from Miami to California.
Urmson partially praises Aurora’s unique long-range Lidar, which can detect objects in the darkness more than 450 meters away due to its ability to operate at night. Lidar, according to the company, can identify pedestrians, vehicles and debris 11 seconds faster than traditional drivers. Since its founding in 2017, Aurora has acquired two Lidar companies. The company purchased Blackmore, a Montana-based Lidar startup, in May 2019, and Technology in 2021.
Now, Urmson and other Aurora engineers are working to verify the capabilities of unmanned trucks to drive in the rain.
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“By the end of the year, we expect to be open day, night, and in the rain. If we can’t survive the rain, it’s going to be difficult to support these long operations, as it’s raining somewhere in the end,” he said.
Today, the Aurora development fleet is active in the rain, and Ulmson pointed out that he would most likely think why the company doesn’t allow commercial trucks to do the same. Aurora has not completed its verification today and “so we’re not going to go out there with that checkmark next to it,” he pointed out.
Today, the company monitors the weather on one commercial route between Dallas and Houston. If unfavourable weather conditions like rain suddenly occur, those trucks can detect this and pull themselves off the road where they wait to be rescued, Ulmson said.
“This year is about building a functional toolbox so that the vehicle can drive where it needs to be,” he said, nodding at his focus on verifying driving in the night and in the rain.
Next year, Aurora will focus on scaling the road network in terms of distance and its fleet. The Aurora is expected to have “dozens of driverless trucks” on public roads by the end of the year, and “hundreds” will be in operation by the end of 2026.
This is all important if you want the Aurora to reach profitability, from the ability of driverless trucks to function at night and in the rain to open up more routes and larger fleets.
Today’s revenue and online income gap is huge. Aurora reported $1 million in revenue and $2 million in net profit loss in the second quarter, according to regulatory filings.
