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Aurora Innovation, Inc. (NASDAQ: AUR) and Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ: WERN), a premier transportation and logistics provider based in Omaha, Nebraska, announced a collaboration and commercial pilot to test and deploy autonomous trucks on one of the most commercially active and critical stretches of highway in the country.
Starting this week, Aurora Driver-powered trucks are hauling loads between Fort Worth and El Paso on behalf of Werner. This lane represents the middle leg of one of the busiest commercial thoroughfares for Werner and the U.S. trucking industry: Atlanta to Los Angeles.
Introducing an autonomous route between Fort Worth and El Paso allows Werner to move freight seamlessly and reliably on a subset of one of its most voluminous lanes.
“This collaboration and pilot with Aurora is another step forward in our commitment to sustainability and safety for our drivers, customers, and the motoring public through innovation,” said Derek Leathers, Werner chairman and president, in a statement. “We look forward to building a hybrid world where drivers continue to haul freight while autonomous trucks supplement rising demand.”
Aurora, based in Pittsburgh, is expanding its commercial footprint along the U.S. Interstate system to connect the country’s most voluminous trucking lanes and expand the company's commercial offering. Aurora is now autonomously hauling goods for FedEx, Werner, and Uber Freight customers day and night across multiple high volume freight corridors in Texas. To support this expansion, it has opened three new terminals in El Paso, Fort Worth, and Houston, a strategic development to rapidly bring Aurora Horizon online.
The pilot is designed to advance the Aurora Driver and Aurora Horizon, Aurora’s autonomous truck product.
Operators are accompanying each truck in the pilot fleet on weekly hauls, ready to assist if necessary. Over the next several months, Aurora and Werner expect to increase the frequency of these loads and are exploring further autonomy for vehicles in this lane.
The Fort Worth to El Paso lane is more than 600 miles and takes approximately nine hours to complete. Its long distance and monotony contribute to this lane’s reputation for being unappealing for truck drivers. By deploying the Aurora Driver, Aurora and the companies it is working with are building a future in which autonomous trucks can handle less popular routes, while human drivers transport more convenient hauls that are conducive to desirable lifestyles.
Launching this new route is a technical and operational milestone toward deploying the Aurora Driver at scale. To start this commercial pilot, Aurora brought two new terminal sites online to service this route and built the technological and operational infrastructure required to operate it. The technical, operational, and commercial muscle Aurora is building in the process will serve its customers well as they deploy Aurora-Driver-powered trucks at scale.
“We look forward to maturing and streamlining these hybrid operations and ultimately delivering a product that delivers value to Werner and its customers at a large scale,” said Sterling Anderson, Aurora’s co-founder and chief product officer.
Aurora Innovation is based in Pittsburgh.