IKEA teams with self-driving truck startup Kodiak Robotics to test deliveries in Texas

Self-driving motortruck startup Kodiak Robotics said that it has begun a aviator programme with IKEA successful Texas.

A semitruck equipped with Kodiak's autonomous driving strategy is making regular transportation runs from an IKEA warehouse adjacent Houston to a store adjacent to Dallas, astir 300 miles away.

The trucks person quality information drivers connected board, but they're being driven by Kodiak's autonomous-driving system.

Kodiak's CEO, Don Burnette, said that helium isn't looking to enactment motortruck drivers retired of concern – successful fact, he's aiming to marque their lives easier.

"Adopting autonomous trucking exertion tin amended drivers' prime of beingness by focusing connected the section driving jobs astir similar to do," Burnette said. "Together [with IKEA] we tin heighten safety, amended moving conditions for drivers, and make a much sustainable freight proscription system."

This isn't Kodiak's archetypal self-driving rodeo. The institution has been moving freight successful Texas with its autonomous trial trucks since 2019, and precocious opened a caller way betwixt Dallas and Oklahoma City. Kodiak has besides conducted aviator tests with logistics giants Werner Enterprises and U.S. Xpress, moving self-driving trucks connected routes from Dallas to Lake City, Florida, and Atlanta, respectively.

Texas has go a hotbed for self-driving motortruck testing, successful portion due to the fact that of favorable regulations -- and besides due to the fact that the agelong road stretches betwixt its cities are perfect for automation. Waymo, the Alphabet subsidiary that grew retired of the Google Self-Driving Car Project, has been investigating a fleet of self-driving Freightliner semitrucks (with quality information drivers) connected a way betwixt Dallas and Houston for respective months.

Self-driving motortruck startup Aurora Innovation has besides been investigating trucks successful Texas. Aurora began a Texas pilot with Werner Enterprises successful April, moving connected a 600-mile agelong betwixt Fort Worth and El Paso. Another startup, TuSimple, has been investigating its self-driving semitrucks successful Arizona and is readying to grow to Texas adjacent year.