FedEx Starts Using Aurora’s autonomous truck on delivery routes between Dallas and Houston

FedEx Corporation has started using autonomous trucks on delivery routes between Dallas and Houston. The trucks being used FedEx is of self-driving vehicle startup Aurora. Apart from aurora, the courier service provider has collaborated with PACCAR for this. FedEx said the collaboration would help them to deploy autonomous technology in a safe way. PACCAR is a manufacturer of medium and heavy duty vehicles. These companies will test the technology in fixed routes. FedEx said that these trucks would cover a distance of around 500-mile in a week. This means, the trucks will be on the same route multiple times a week.

The trucks will run autonomously but there will be a human inside the truck for safety purposes. Reports suggest that the first fleet will initially have a small number of trucks. FedEx said that the initiative is a ‘first of its kind agreement.’ “This is first of its kind collaboration in the industry. This will enhance the logistics industry by providing a safer and efficient way of transportation. We are more than happy to collaborate with other industry leaders on the project,” the vice president of advanced technology and innovation at FedEx, Rebecca Yeung said.

Aurra’s chief product officer Sterling Anderson said the partnership will help provide better mobility. “This will let FedEx give cohesive and integrated product and service,” Anderson said that all the partners are leaders in their field and have unique perspectives on how to deploy self-driving truck solutions. “We strongly believe that this collaboration is the only credible way to deliver the required technology at a large scale,” he added. Anderson feels that the pilot will continue and will evolve into a much wider project. The pilot project has been launched after Aurora and PACCAR announced a strategic announcement earlier this year. This partnership also indicates that FedEx is interested in autonomous and robotics solutions. This is obvious because the company has been receiving record delivery volumes.