Autonomous Trucks
Autonomous vehicle company TuSimple announced that it completed an industry-first test pilot to resulting in faster service, fresher food, and less waste. The campaign was part of a pilot project with partners The Giumarra Companies, a leading international network of fresh produce growers, distributors, and marketers, and the Associated Wholesale Grocers, Inc. (AWG), the nation’s largest cooperative food wholesaler. The run normally takes 24 hours and 6 minutes with human drivers and traditional trucks, but TuSimple’s automated driving systems made for a 42% faster run of 14 hours and six minutes, the company said. The pick-up and delivery of the produce commonly referred to as “first mile” and “last mile,” was done manually with a human driver, while the longest portion of the journey from Tucson, Arizona, to Dallas, Texas, also known as the “middle mile,” was done autonomously using TuSimple’s self-driving technology, which handled a more than 900-mile (1,450-km) leg of this journey. “We believe the food industry is one of many that will greatly benefit from the use of TuSimple’s autonomous trucking technology,” said Jim Mullen, Chief Administrative Officer at TuSimple.