Bot Auto is keeping its remote assistants based exclusively in the U.S., the Houston autonomous trucking company announced Thursday. These remote assistants sit between a driverless truck and whoever walks up to it but perform no part of the actual driving. The vehicle operates autonomously at all times. Their function is communication and coordination: direct contact with first responders and law enforcement in the field, plus limited vehicle actions during an incident. “Remote assistants play a critical role in Bot Auto’s operations, providing a human layer of support and oversight for our autonomous fleet. We’re building out America’s 21st-century supply chain. It needs to be extremely resilient, and that’s why it’s critical that these roles are always kept within the United States,” said Brian Moore, Bot Auto’s chief policy officer. Bot Auto runs a Level 4 fleet out of Houston and sells transportation as a service, positioning itself inside what it calls the Texas trucking triangle. What Remote Assistance Operators Do at the Roadside The work is already running in live operations. Remote assistants monitor operations from Bot Auto’s mission control today, confirming vehicle status and passing along cargo and routing information. They can remotely actuate functions such as hazard lights. They can also facilitate a vehicle shutdown at an officer’s direction. That last capability is the one that matters during a traffic stop. With no one in the cab, the shutdown request has to go somewhere. Bot Auto’s answer is a person in the United States, not one offshore. The Question the Senate Already Asked Where those people sit became a Washington issue in February. Waymo Chief Safety Officer Mauricio Peña told a Senate hearing that part of the company’s robotaxi support staff works overseas. Waymo operates four remote assistance centers, two of them in the Philippines and the