Autonomous trucks are not coming to produce warehouses just yet, but recent news may indicate the day might not be that far off.
Eden Prairie, Minn.-based logistics company C.H. Robinson and Mountain View, Calif.-based Waymo Via have formed a long-term strategic partnership to explore the application of autonomous driving technology in logistics and supply chains, according to a news release.
Waymo Via is the trucking and local delivery unit of autonomous driving technology company Waymo. The partnership, the release said, combines the benefits of Waymo’s innovative autonomous driving technology, the Waymo Driver, with C.H. Robinson’s Navisphere technology, which is the world’s most-connected logistics platform.
“We are excited to partner with Waymo Via to explore how autonomous driving technology can help bring increased capacity and sustainability into our logistics strategies,” Chris O’Brien, chief commercial officer at C.H. Robinson, said in the release. “Together, we are going to harness this emerging freight technology and its potential on behalf of customers and carriers.”
The collaboration will focus first on running multiple pilots in the Dallas-Houston transportation lane, according to the release, with Waymo Via autonomous trucks hauling C.H. Robinson’s customer freight.
As they gain knowledge from the pilots, the companies will work together to shape future development and expansion of autonomous driving technology, according to the release.
“We look forward to this collaboration with C.H. Robinson, both for their deep roots and experience in logistics and transportation, but also as a company that shares our vision of how technology and autonomous trucking can change our industry for the better,” Charlie Jatt, head of commercialization for trucking at Waymo, said in the release. “C.H. Robinson’s size, scale and platform gives us access to rich and unique transportation data, along with customer relationships and pilot opportunities to help bring our Waymo Via solution to the market.”
