The NYT has an article on autonomous long haul trucks today - which we’ve discussed (on Fool 1.0) as a possible easier first step for autonomy, for many of the reasons discussed in the article:
However, even for trucks, they’re still years away from taking out the safety monitors. Maybe Avery Brooks is available for an update of that ad…
Interstate highway must be easiest to automate. But programming for every possible situation is probably impossible. You might expect such trucks to have many sensors and even video cameras that can contact distant controllers in an out of bounds situation. And they in turn may instruct vehicle to stop somewhere safe and wait for human assistance. Meanwhile they continue to collect more data for the programmer (or AI) to incorporate.
https://insideevs.com/news/787100/aurora-driverless-trucks-1000-miles-update/
Pittsburgh-based Aurora is on track to triple its network of driverless delivery trucks.
Aurora, the Pittsburgh-based autonomous trucking company, wants to supercharge its fleet of driverless big rigs. The company said the latest software update to its driverless hardware suite will enable its trucks to drive nonstop from Phoenix to Fort Worth.
That trip is roughly 1,000 miles long and takes 15 hours to complete, but here’s where trucks without drivers behind the steering wheel have the upper hand, because they’re not subject to the same mandatory rest breaks as human drivers. By contrast, a human driver would have to take a rest after 11 hours of driving.
“Being a carrier is a game of margins, and if autonomy can work around the clock, it will be key to growing our customers."
This is Aurora’s fourth software release since deploying driverless trucks on America’s roads back in April 2025.
The company currently has five autonomous trucks carrying cargo without safety monitors between Dallas, Houston, Fort Worth and El Paso.