The drivers on I-20 and I-45 likely had no idea they were cruising alongside an 18-wheeler operated by artificial intelligence when Kodiak Robotics allowed me to ride in one of its autonomous vehicles on a rainy day in late January. From the seat of a standard vehicle, the safety driver likely appeared like any other trucker—but this operator didn’t have his hands on the wheel. As the truck safely navigated lane changes, overpasses, exits, and merges, my latent fears were put to rest.<\/p>\n
Kodiak Robotics’ Lancaster operations hub is helping build the future of logistics where driverless vehicles will aid the nation with a labor shortage that has already arrived. The American Trucking Association estimates that the U.S. trucking industry is already short 80,000 drivers, and the number could double by 2030. Trucking moves 72 percent of the nation’s freight, and there already aren’t enough people to move the merchandise.<\/p>\n
Kodiak Robotics is among the technology firms trying to address the shortage with artificial intelligence, and it is well on its way. The Lancaster operations hub is the seven-year-old San Francisco-based company’s center of excellence, testing new truck models and technology and serving as a command center for its vehicles. Kodiak’s technology is equipping vehicles already on roads between Atlanta and Phoenix, delivering freight via autonomous trucks for Walmart, Maersk, Ikea, and J.B. Hunt.<\/p>\n
The company chose Dallas as its center of excellence because of the friendly regulatory environment, relatively good weather, and of course, miles of highway. The organization has worked with Hillwood’s Mobility Innovation Zone at Alliance, offering Kodiak a chance to train its technology in a freight environment with air, rail, and trucking modalities.<\/p>\n
“It’s a convenient location that’s super efficient for testing and development,” says Kodiak CEO Don Burnette. “Hillwood and Alliance offer that capability and freight volume, so access to strategic partners is a huge advantage as well.”<\/strong><\/p>\n During my visit to their depot near the intersections of I-20 and I-35 earlier this month, I was able to step into one of the Kodiak-branded 18-wheelers and ride with the team to see how the vehicle operated in traffic. With programmed following distances, defensive merging and lane changes, and a setting that automatically slows down when passing a stalled vehicle, the ride felt controlled and safe, even in busy traffic with slick roads and rainfall. If I hadn’t known I was being driven by artificial intelligence and hadn’t looked at the steering wheel, I would never have known.<\/p>\n A safety driver and another employee staffed the vehicle to monitor the trucks’ sensors and technology. Kodiak’s technology doesn’t rely on previously mapped routes and roads. It senses everything in real-time and makes adjustments as necessary.<\/p>\n The radar and lidar-enabled vehicles’ safe driving has delivered 10 percent fuel savings compared to a human driver. Not to mention that the AI doesn’t need to eat, sleep, or use stimulants to stay awake. Most of the company’s freight runs are between 10 and 12 hours or one day’s drive. Burnette says we are likely still several years away from entirely driverless long-haul trucks because there are hurdles like fueling and parking where humans are still needed, but the company launched driverless trucks in a different setting earlier this year.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Launch of Driverless Trucking<\/strong><\/p>\n The commercial launch of driverless trucks has long been a goal for the industry, and Kodiak recently made it a reality. An Austin-based company called Atlas Energy Solutions owns trucks outfitted with Kodiak Driver and operates them in the oil fields of West Texas in a truly unique setting. Atlas delivers sand around West Texas to be shot into fissures in the shale and push out extra oil via fracking.<\/p>\n The company built a 42-mile autonomous conveyor system across West Texas ranches that delivers sand from the sand mines to the oil rigs. Atlas’ Kodiak-driven vehicles take the sand from the conveyor belt on a 21-mile offroad route closer to the wells. The trips are the first time a customer has taken ownership of a RoboTruck and launched completely driverless commercial semi-trucking operations.<\/p>\n The driverless trucks made their first deliveries at the end of last year. This was the first time a company has owned and operated their own vehicles quipped with Kodiak’s technology, but Kodiak’s goal is to get out of the trucking business and be the tech behind the logistics.<\/p>\n “Those trucks are out running as we speak, which is pretty incredible,” Burnette says. “They have no driver in them and can operate 24\/7, and Atlas is a 24\/7 business out in the Permian. Now it’s all about scaling, delivering more trucks, providing more value, and improving efficiency.”<\/p>\n Because the Kodiak technology doesn’t rely on mapping, the vehicles can function in unmapped areas like off-road environments, making their use in West Texas a perfect fit. Even if it is the first time the vehicle has experienced a road or terrain, the AI can navigate its surroundings. This capability made the technology an ideal candidate for another client: the military.<\/p>\n Read More<\/a><\/p>“}]}},{“one”:{“id”:12626,”date”:”2025-02-04″,”image”:{“thumbnail”:”78026b57-5e83-40ac-a6e6-adde0d39e538.jpg”,”original”:”f7a30d8d-5705-454a-a4b1-13ebf9406da8.jpg”,”optimized”:”ced94d49-4bc1-4f34-9ee0-5cbb43ff8f2f.jpg”},”featured”:false,”title”:”AllianceTexas Reaches $130 Billion in Economic Impact for North Texas”},”two”:{“id”:12626,”date”:”2025-02-04″,”image”:{“thumbnail”:”78026b57-5e83-40ac-a6e6-adde0d39e538.jpg”,”original”:”f7a30d8d-5705-454a-a4b1-13ebf9406da8.jpg”,”optimized”:”ced94d49-4bc1-4f34-9ee0-5cbb43ff8f2f.jpg”},”details”:[{“language”:”English – US”,”languageCode”:”en-US”,”title”:”AllianceTexas Reaches $130 Billion in Economic Impact for North Texas”,”article”:”