Autonomous Trucks
Instead, they are targeting limited business cases that constrain where autonomous trucks will operate, thus reducing the complexity of the task and easing the technology’s path to market. Instead of targeting the longhaul segment, this company is working directly with large shippers to automate shorthaul routes with autonomous box trucks that shuttle goods between fulfillment centers, warehouses and drop-off locations. Although specialized autonomous vehicles already have been hauling materials for many years at some large mines across the globe, Pronto sees an opportunity to deploy autonomous trucks more broadly throughout the mining industry, especially at smaller sites, said Ognen Stojanovski, Pronto’s chief operating officer. “We’re signing contracts and getting paid for moving dirt every day,” said Stojanovski, who co-founded Pronto alongside autonomous vehicle pioneer Anthony Levandowski. Pronto also is actively working on a federally funded research project with Virginia Tech focused on how trucking fleets could adopt autonomous driving technology and operate a mix of manually driven and autonomous vehicles.