Autonomous Electric Freight Trucks Scaling Up In Europe Support CleanTechnica's work through a Substack subscription, on Patreon, or on Stripe. Help us produce all of the high-quality, original content we publish week after week despite the challenges of content-scraping AI, antisocial media, inflation, and other hurdles. There’s so much attention on robotaxis and so many companies trying to lead this sector, but there seems to be relatively little news on autonomous long-distance trucking. That seems somewhat surprising since one would think autonomous long-distance trucking would be easier than unpredictable urban taxi service, and might also be significantly more lucrative. Anyway, that’s not to say no one is attempting to crack this nut. For example, in Europe, we’ve got Einride. Last week, Einride and DAF Trucks partnered on a joint initiative to integrate Einride’s autonomous driving system, which is called Einride Driver, into DAF’s premium vehicle platform. Autonomous trucking at scale? We’ll see. “The collaboration marks a significant step toward the large-scale commercialization of SAE Level 4 autonomous electric freight transportation in response to industry challenges such as driver shortages and rising operating costs,” the companies note. “Level 4 refers to a high level of driving automation in which the vehicle can independently perform repetitive driving tasks under predefined conditions, without any need for human intervention. In this way, available drivers can focus on activities in logistic operations where their expertise and judgement add the most value.” (Until someone tries to have AI replace that latter part too….) Here’s how the collaboration is working: “As a first step, Einride and DAF, together with experts from the Dutch independent research institute for applied science and innovation, TNO, will collaborate on defining and testing the integration of Einride’s autonomous drive system within DAF’s ‘International Truck of the Year 2026′ electric truck platform. This
Aug 17, 2026 · via cleantechnica.com
The rise of automation, AI, and electric trucks can fundamentally change the freight transportation industry in the United States, leading to a revolution in transport fuel demand. Various vehicle and technology companies and U.S. cities and states have launched in recent years automation trucking pilot programs. In barge transportation on the Mississippi River, AI-assisted co-pilot projects are already being used to make transportation more efficient. The increase in efficiency, via technological, autonomous, or AI-enabled systems, could optimize freight efficiency, including by reducing fuel per-unit use and inefficiencies in supply chains, Reuters columnist Gavin Maguire argues. Vehicle automation is a promising fuel-reducing strategy. Moreover, truck platooning, the linking of trucks in a convoy to travel closer together by using connectivity technology and automated driving support systems, is a “likely contender to reduce energy requirements for the heavy-duty vehicle sector,” says the transport and mobility research team at the National Laboratory of the Rockies. Platooning allows multiple vehicles to travel closer together, accelerate or brake simultaneously, and reduce aerodynamic drag to create significant energy or fuel savings, NLR notes. Self-driving trucks in Texas and AI-assisted navigation on the Mississippi River are making inroads in boosting the efficiency of freight transportation in the United States. Aurora Innovation, a self-driving freight developer, last year launched a commercial self-driving trucking service in Texas, starting regular driverless customer deliveries between Dallas and Houston. This year, Aurora Innovation and its manufacturing partner Roush launched their second-generation driverless trucks. Aurora plans to deploy the new fleet across its commercial network, which currently encompasses 10 driverless routes throughout the U.S. Sun Belt, to serve additional customers. Related: Libya Power Crisis Explodes as Grid Fails Again “By working with a world-class manufacturing partner like Roush, we can meet our customer demand and continue to make the movement of goods safer
Aug 17, 2026 · via oilprice.com
Aurora Innovation (AUR) is down 5.7% today. Here is some analysis on what might have caused this price movement. ([ir.aurora.tech](https://ir.aurora.tech/news-events/press-releases/detail/147/aurora-announces-second-quarter-2026-results)) Analysis: The most likely explanation is that investors are weighing solid operating and regulatory progress against Aurora’s still-heavy cash consumption and recent share issuance. This could be because the market is treating the latest California permit news and fleet expansion targets as positive but not enough to offset dilution and financing concerns in the near term. ([qr.dmv.ca.gov](https://qr.dmv.ca.gov/portal/vehicle-industry-services/autonomous-vehicles/autonomous-vehicle-testing-permit-holders/)) Details: Sources: Aurora Innovation Investor Relations, SEC, California DMV, California Public Utilities Commission Disclaimer: This price movement analysis was generated with the help of AI. Please double-check the information provided for mistakes. $AUR Insider Trading Activity $AUR insiders have traded $AUR stock on the open market 23 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 1 have been purchases and 22 have been sales. Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $AUR stock by insiders over the last 6 months: - TECHNOLOGIES, INC UBER sold 67,500,000 shares for an estimated $479,250,000 - REID HOFFMAN has made 0 purchases and 9 sales selling 7,048,487 shares for an estimated $54,288,482. - MICHELANGELO VOLPI has made 0 purchases and 12 sales selling 3,548,071 shares for an estimated $24,938,021. - DAVID M. WEHNER purchased 82,500 shares for an estimated $498,300 To track insider transactions, check out Quiver Quantitative's insider trading dashboard. You can access data on insider stock transactions through the Quiver Quantitative API insider transaction endpoint. $AUR Hedge Fund Activity We have seen 266 institutional investors add shares of $AUR stock to their portfolio, and 185 decrease their positions in their most recent quarter. Here are some of the largest recent moves: - T. ROWE PRICE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT, INC. added 113,793,139 shares (+61.3%) to their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $776,069,207 - CAPITAL
Aug 17, 2026 · via quiverquant.com
California has issued its first permits to test autonomous trucks on public roads, to Aurora Innovation and Kodiak AI, with Kodiak already running vehicles around Mountain View. Teamsters California filed suit on 5 August asking a court to repeal the rules that made the permits possible. Self-driving trucks are testing on California public roads for the first time. The state’s Department of Motor Vehicles has issued permits to Aurora Innovation and Kodiak AI, and Kodiak has already put a handful of trucks to work, mostly around its Mountain View office. It follows a rule change on 28 April that lifted California’s ban on testing autonomous vehicles weighing more than 10,000 pounds, a restriction that had kept both companies out of their home state for years. The permits are narrow. A safety driver has to stay behind the wheel, and testing is barred on roads posted at 25mph or below unless the truck is taking a direct route between destinations. The rules underneath them are already being challenged. Teamsters California filed a writ petition in Alameda Superior Court on 5 August, days before the permits were granted, asking a judge to repeal the regulations outright. The union’s case is procedural rather than technological. It argues the DMV sidestepped requirements to study and publish the economic impact of allowing driverless heavy trucks, and failed to properly weigh the risk to other road users. “Such a critical decision with life-and-death consequences must involve public input and transparency,” said Peter Finn, a Teamsters California co-chair, “that is why Teamsters California is taking the DMV to court.” The union is not relying on the courts alone. Co-chair Victor Mineros said it would keep fighting “in the courtroom, at the ballot box, and into the next administration,” and gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra has committed to reversing
Aug 17, 2026 · via thenextweb.com
Is Telo Trucks The Real Deal? I Interviewed The Founders To Find Out Telo says its mini electric truck will offer 350 miles of range, four doors, and the same bed length as a four-door Toyota Tacoma. Telo trucks has made some big promises. Its upcoming MT1 electric mini truck is supposed to deliver up to 350 miles of range, 8,000 pounds of towing capacity, 500 horsepower, ultra-fast 800V charging, and a five-foot truck bed in a footprint no longer than a two-door Mini Cooper. But as America's graveyard of EV startups grows, is Telo prepared to go the distance? I interviewed two of the company's founders to find out. Both CEO Jason Marks and CTO Forrest North say that the company's first product is almost ready to launch. But both are also honest that high-volume production isn't the immediate goal. Telo says the MT1 will tow up to 8,000 pounds, which is more than any Toyota Tacoma or Ford Ranger can pull. It'll also have better payload capacity than existing midsize trucks and—with the help of a folding mid-gate—room to fit 8-foot-long items. "We're not looking at going to 100,000 units in year one," Marks told me. "We're looking to get to 500 units on year one, 5,000 units on year two, and only once we establish that can we really go mass market and scale." Marks likens the approach to Tesla, which launched with the low-volume Roadster before building the more mass-market Model S. The company made fewer than 2,500 Roadsters between 2008 and 2012. Telo wants to run the same playbook, which should come as no surprise given that Tesla co-founders Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning are investors in Telo. Gallery: Telo MT1 subcompact electric truck The company says production of the MT1 will start this year,
Aug 17, 2026 · via insideevs.com
NODA AI wins $100M Pentagon contract to scale autonomous mission command across the Joint Force
● 11 hours ago
NODA AI announced on 17 August 2026 that the US Department of War has awarded it a $100 million contract to scale the company's autonomous mission command software across the Joint Force.
The award builds directly on the $10 million contract NODA secured in July 2026 to develop MAESTRO (Multi-Domain Autonomous Enhanced System for Tactical Reasoning and Orchestration), the orchestration software behind the Pentagon's LUCAS (Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System) one-way attack drone programme. The new, ten-times-larger award moves the New York- and Austin-based firm's hardware-agnostic autonomy platform from a single programme into broad, multi-domain deployment across the US military's services.
NODA's software acts as a vendor-neutral orchestration layer that lets drones, ground robots and sensors from different manufacturers keep executing a commander's intent under contested and jammed conditions, positioning the company as a connective-tissue infrastructure supplier for software-defined defence.
Read more: The Defence Blog
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Aug 17, 2026 · via app.dealroom.co
China Tests New Way To Automate Trucking: One Driver Leading A Convoy A single human sits in a lead cab on the Beijing–Tianjin–Tanggu Expressway. Behind them, heavy trucks follow in tight formation — empty cabs, no safety operators, Level 4 autonomy handling every steering input via vehicle-to-vehicle communication. This isn't a test track scenario. It's a permitted, cross-provincial operation. China's "1+N" platooning model isn't waiting for the perfect fully-driverless solution. It built a working one around regulations that already exist. The architecture is straightforward. The lead truck carries a human driver who handles navigation, compliance, and edge-case judgment. Trailing trucks mirror its every move autonomously. Deployments target controlled, high-frequency environments first — smart ports, mining haul roads, fixed expressway freight corridors — where trip patterns are predictable enough that Level 4 systems can actually prove themselves. Who's Running It and Where Three companies hold the serious approvals, spanning ports, expressways, and mining corridors across multiple Chinese provinces. Pony.ai became the first company approved for cross-provincial robotruck platooning in China, running convoys on the Jingjintang Expressway connecting Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei. Its 2025 permits now allow trailing trucks to operate completely driver-out — a meaningful step beyond earlier requirements mandating safety personnel in every cab. SANY paired its 4th-generation electric semi with Pony.ai technology in a "1+4" configuration aimed specifically at smart-port drayage operations, where repetitive short-haul movements make autonomous following trucks particularly effective. KargoBot, backed by DiDi, holds L4 convoy approvals across four regions: - Beijing - Tianjin - Inner Mongolia - Hebei These include routes along the Beijing–Taipei Expressway and Daxing Airport Expressway. In Ordos, 100 Level 4 electric trucks running KargoBot systems have been delivered and are operating in convoy demonstration mode. The system, as SANY's rollout framing puts it, "pairs autonomy with human experience" — the lead
Aug 17, 2026 · via tech.yahoo.com
Russia's KAMAZ has logged more than 14.5 million kilometers (about 9 million miles) of autonomous freight operation on federal highways without a single reported accident — and on August 15, the company confirmed it is now developing passenger buses equipped with automated driving systems. That track record is extraordinary. It is also, by the structure of the engineering problem, only partially relevant to what comes next. Highway autonomy and urban passenger autonomy are not the same discipline, and every autonomous vehicle program in the world that has tried to translate one into the other has discovered they require fundamentally different architectures, sensor configurations, and safety frameworks. KAMAZ is now standing at exactly that frontier. The August 15 announcement came in direct response to a broader Russian government push: Transport Minister Andrei Nikitin proposed extending Russia's Experimental Legal Regime — the regulatory sandbox that has allowed KAMAZ trucks to operate driverlessly on public highways since 2023 — to include minibuses and buses. The government subsequently drafted amendments that would formally bring passenger vehicles of this class within the ELR framework. Pilot regions under discussion include Moscow, St. Petersburg, Tatarstan, and Russia's Far East — each of which already hosts some element of KAMAZ's highway freight network or existing autonomous vehicle experimentation. Highway Autonomy Is Not Urban Autonomy The distinction matters, and the article's most important fact is the one KAMAZ's announcement leaves implicit. Under the SAE International J3016 standard — the global taxonomy for driving automation — every autonomous system is defined by its Operational Design Domain (ODD): the specific set of conditions, environments, and traffic types the system is designed to handle. A highway ODD and an urban bus ODD are, technically speaking, different certifications for different systems, even if the underlying vehicle is the same. On Russia's M-11 Neva
Aug 17, 2026 · via techtimes.com
Self-Driving Trucks Are Already Hitting The Road In California The California DMV has issued the first permits that allow companies to test heavy autonomous vehicles on the road. - California has lifted its ban on heavy autonomous vehicles, and the first self-driving trucks have already hit the road. - Two companies have received permits from the California DMV to test their autonomous vehicle technology on public state roads. - For now, the rules allow public testing with a safety driver behind the steering wheel. After plenty of driverless taxis have made their way onto its streets, California has officially opened the door to another category of self-driving vehicles, and the first companies are wasting no time in taking advantage of the new rules. The California Department of Motor Vehicles has issued the first permits that allow companies to test autonomous trucks on public roads, and Aurora Innovation and Kodiak AI are the first to receive them. Both startups are developing self-driving technologies for big rigs, and Kodiak said it has already started testing in California with a handful of test trucks, mostly around its office in Mountain View. Earlier this year, the California DMV updated its rules regarding self-driving vehicle testing, lifting a ban on autonomous vehicles weighing more than 10,000 pounds. The regulator also set a path for companies to test and potentially deploy self-driving heavy vehicles, as reported by TechCrunch. Aurora and Kodiak applied for testing permits this spring, after California approved the new rules on April 28. Both companies met the DMV’s criteria for testing, including safety, insurance, vehicle registration, and safety driver qualification. All this being said, testing AVs over 10,000 lbs still requires a safety driver behind the steering wheel in California. The rules also ban companies from testing on roads where the speed limit
Aug 17, 2026 · via insideevs.com
The Department of Motor Vehicles has issued the first ever permit for heavy-duty autonomous vehicles to be tested on California's roads. On Thursday, the California Department of Motor Vehicles issued a permit to Kodiak AI, Inc. to begin testing heavy-duty autonomous vehicles on California's roads for the first time. Until now, classification did not exist for — and therefore did not allow — vehicles heavier than 10,001 pounds. Yahoo! News compares Kodiak's first testing phase to a leaner's permit: "What the DMV actually issued is a drivered permit. Every Kodiak tractor operating under it carries a human being in the left seat, belted in, hands near the wheel, doing exactly the job California spent a decade insisting somebody had to do," writes John Lloyd. "Kodiak's permit is the first rung of a three-rung ladder: drivered testing, then driverless testing, then driverless commercial deployment." But Lloyd also emphasized how quickly the phase might pass. "Before a heavy-duty developer can run driverless freight commercially in California, it needs roughly 500,000 miles logged in the safety-driver phase and another 500,000 in the driverless phase, with about 200,000 of the total accumulated inside California... [but] a single long-haul tractor covers 500,000 miles in maybe five years of hard duty. A test fleet of 20 trucks running 500 miles a day clears the same distance in about seven weeks." Lloyd's article gives a very thorough overview and analysis of Kodiak's history, the evolving regulations of heavy-duty autonomous vehicles, and what it all means. Have a read, below. FULL STORY: California Just Handed Kodiak a Learner's Permit for Driverless Semis Planetizen Federal Action Tracker A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America. Lost lines: Amtrak's discontinued and defunct named trains The Abraham Lincoln, the Cape Codder and El
Aug 17, 2026 · via planetizen.com
- Markets athexgroup.grAthens Exchange GroupRead moreTogether for a unified, stronger European capital market. - Equities Sustainable finance2025 Euronext ESG Trends ReportRead moreA data-driven snapshot of how Euronext-listed companies are advancing their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices. - Indices Access the white paperInvesting in the future of Europe with innovative indicesRead moreThe first edition of the Euronext Index Outlook series with a particular focus on the European Strategic Autonomy Index. - ETFs The European market place for ETFsEuronext ETF EuropeRead moreInvestors benefit from a centralised market place that will not only bring transparency but also better pricing due to the grouping of liquidity. - Funds - Fixed Income European Defence BondsGroupe BPCE lists the first bondRead moreFirst financial institution in Europe to issue a bond dedicated to the defence sector - Structured Products - Derivatives Where European Government Bonds Meet the FutureTrade Mini Bond FuturesRead moreTrade mini bond futures on main European government bonds - Commodities - Overview - Agricultural quotes - Power Derivatives - Milling Wheat derivatives - Corn derivatives - Spread contracts - Rapeseed derivatives - Durum Wheat derivatives - Salmon derivatives - Container Freight Futures - Delivery & settlement - Specifications & arrangements - Commitments of Traders (CoT) report - Commodity brokers Building a sustainable and liquid power derivatives market.Euronext Nord Pool Power FuturesRead moreEuronext and Nord Pool, the European power exchange, announced the launch of a dedicated Nordic and Baltic power futures market. - Resources Designed to help students navigate the complexities of financial marketsEuronext Trading gameRead moreJoin the Euronext Trading Game and step into capital markets. Learn from today’s leaders, explore sustainable opportunities, and trade with confidence. Russia's Far East to test drones and unmanned trucks for trade with China Aug 17 (Reuters) - Drones and self-driving trucks could soon be ferrying goods between China
Aug 17, 2026 · via live.euronext.com
Automotive Industry News & Contents 2026 [Daily Updates] Updated daily with the latest information for the automotive industry. Coverage (Japanese/English/Chinese) of information directly related to business, including complete vehicles, EVs, automated driving, sales figures, and industry reports. VDI Autonomous Truck 2026 - Real-World Driverless Truck Deployment: Lessons from Kodiak AI’s 24/7 Customer Operations (Kodiak AI) - Real-World Data: The Critical Path to L4 Autonomous Trucks (Inceptio) - Automated Underbody Megawatt Charging for Heavy-Duty Application (Fraunhofer IVI) Commercial Vehicle reports Autonomous Driving reports Mexico's sales rise 7.7% in June While Nissan and VW see declines, GM, Hyundai, Toyota, and Honda post gains. Stellantis, Mazda, and Renault perform particularly well, recording double-digit growth. Among Chinese OEMs, Geely and SAIC expand their sales. Supply Chain: Harness / Switch / Connector / Other Electronics Supply chain: Perodua Axia (Malaysia) The Perodua Axia, manufactured in Malaysia, is an A-segment compact hatchback jointly developed with Daihatsu that utilizes the DNGA platform. Positioned as Perodua's entry-level model at an affordable price point, it has maintained strong sales in the Malaysian market. In terms of safety features, it is equipped with Advanced Safety Assist. The blind spot monitor sensors and camera ECU are supplied by Denso, while the electric power steering ECU is supplied by Furukawa Electric. Additionally, chassis components such as the frame are supplied by Namicoh Suria, a local joint venture between Namicoh and Suria Component Manufacturing, a major Malaysian Tier 1 supplier. Perodua Axia Supplier Details Perodua's vehicle assembly plant in Malaysia Perodua related plant news Perodua's suppliers in Malaysia (including indirect transactions) Suppliers for Perodua, Malaysia's national car manufacturer, are concentrated in the state of Selangor. A key characteristic of these suppliers is their ability to provide high-quality automotive components—ranging from stamped parts and chassis components to electronic parts—backed by strong partnerships and capital
Aug 17, 2026 · via marklines.com
What’s the deal? Aurora and Kodiak Robotics, two companies developing self-driving trucks, have received permits from the California Department of Motor Vehicles to operate their autonomous vehicles on public roads in the state. The development marks a regulatory step for both companies as they work to move autonomous freight from testing towards commercial deployment. Why it matters: California permits provide an important framework for collecting on-road data, validating safety systems and expanding operational experience in one of the most closely watched markets for autonomous vehicles. For freight operators, autonomous trucking is being developed as a way to improve fleet utilisation, address long-haul capacity constraints and support more consistent delivery operations, while regulators continue to assess how the technology should operate alongside conventional traffic. Company focus: Aurora describes its Driver platform as a self-driving freight system designed to integrate with existing fleet operations and haul customer loads without a driver behind the wheel. Kodiak AI focuses on autonomous trucking and AI-powered ground autonomy solutions. The permits do not by themselves represent a commercial launch or confirm the scale of either company’s permitted operations, but they give both teams an additional route to test and develop self-driving freight technology on California roads. Read more: Aurora · Kodiak AI · TechCrunch on X
Aug 17, 2026 · via app.dealroom.co
MONTREAL -- Once thought of as a distant fantasy, autonomous trucks are moving towards commercial reality on Canadian highways as companies look to boost productivity amid a driver shortage and governments seek to reduce deadly crashes. They are not yet driving themselves out of warehouses and down the highways, but companies of all sizes --including General Motors, Google and Uber -- are testing out the technology. Already a banner year in self-driving advancements -- including the first on-street test of an autonomous vehicle in Canada -- interest in the sector picked up in the closing months of 2017 after Tesla Inc. showcased a fully electric semi-trailer truck equipped with semi-autonomous technology including enhanced autopilot, automated braking and lane departure warnings. Toronto trucking firm Fortigo Freight joined Loblaws and Walmart Canada in each pre-ordering Tesla semis, the $232,000 electric truck set to be delivered in 2019 that holds the promise of eventually becoming autonomous. Despite his company's investment, Fortigo president Elias Demangos isn't holding his breath for widespread adoption in the next decade. While the vehicles are ideally suited for corridors, such as Canada's busiest route between Montreal and Windsor, Demangos believes drivers will still be needed for short-haul services or to pick up and deliver goods. Estimates on how far away we are from a driverless future vary widely, but completely driverless trucks are already being used far from traffic, on remote resource properties. Suncor Energy is testing them at its oilsands operations in Alberta, while Rio Tinto is expanding their deployment at its iron ore mines in Australia. Rapid advances in technology are "revolutionizing" the way large-scale mining is undertaken around the globe, said Chris Salisbury, head of the mining giant's iron ore division. Transport Minister Marc Garneau travelled in October to Tesla's headquarters in Silicon Valley as part
Aug 17, 2026 · via ctvnews.ca
In autonomous and self-driving vehicle news are In this Article PlusAI Advances Commercial Readiness Metrics Ahead of 2027 Autonomous Truck Scale Dallas Pedestrian Dies in Secondary Impact With Autonomous Waymo Vehicle Waymo Secures CPUC Authorization for Robotaxi Commercial Expansion Across 18 California Counties The California Public Utilities Commission has approved Waymo’s Advice Letter No. 4, authorizing commercial driverless ride-hailing services across 18 Northern and Southern California counties. The permit clears operational expansion across the San Francisco Bay Area and Greater Los Angeles while opening market entries into Sacramento and San Diego. The geographic footprint encompasses 12 Northern California counties including Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, Sonoma, and Yolo, alongside six Southern California counties comprising Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Ventura. The regulatory clearance covers vehicle operation across all road classifications—including highways, urban arterials, rural corridors, rail crossings, and surface lots—in daytime, nighttime, rain, fog, and hail conditions. Operations encompass both the Jaguar I-Pace fleet and the custom purpose-built Ojai vehicle architecture powered by Waymo’s sixth-generation Driver system. Commercial rollout across the permitted counties will proceed incrementally under the operator’s phased safety protocols. Witherite Law Group Challenges AV Operational Readiness During Emergency Responses and High-Speed Pursuits Uber Japan and Hinomaru Kotsu Partner for Tokyo Robotaxi Pilot Uber Japan has signed an operational partnership agreement with Tokyo taxi operator Hinomaru Kotsu to manage fleet operations for an autonomous vehicle pilot deployment scheduled to launch in late 2026. Hinomaru Kotsu will oversee depot management, vehicle maintenance, charging infrastructure, and uptime logistics, while Uber integrates ride-hailing demand matching through its global platform. The deployment utilizes Nissan LEAF electric vehicles equipped with Wayve AI Driver technology under a prior March 2026 memorandum of understanding between Uber, Wayve, and Nissan Motor. To
Aug 16, 2026 · via autoconnectedcar.com
A museum dedicated to vehicles that drive, fly, sail, and coordinate themselves By Futurist Thomas Frey For over a hundred years, transportation museums have told a story about human skill — the pilot’s hands on the yoke, the engineer’s grip on the throttle, the captain’s judgment at the helm. Every exhibit celebrated a person mastering a machine. That story is quietly ending, and a new one is taking its place: machines mastering themselves. Self-driving cars have already logged over 150 million miles on U.S. roads, robotaxi services are running in China and the U.A.E., and autonomous freight corridors are opening between ports and distribution hubs across multiple continents. This isn’t a distant future scenario anymore — it’s a live, sprawling, occasionally chaotic transition happening in real time, on real roads, with real regulatory fights attached. It deserves its own museum, and it deserves one built now, while the story is still being written rather than after it’s already finished. Welcome to the Autonomous Transportation Museum. Driverless Cars: The Gallery Where This Started The opening gallery has to be the one that made the whole category famous: the driverless passenger car. Visitors would trace the technology’s evolution from early driver-assistance systems to full autonomy, with a working exhibit showing exactly how a vehicle like Zoox’s bidirectional robotaxi — with no fixed “front” or “back” — uses AI-powered perception to navigate a crowded street. Ford’s push toward Level 3 “eyes-off” driving and Audi’s award-winning AR-integrated systems would sit side by side, letting visitors compare how differently automakers are racing toward the same basic promise: a car that doesn’t need you to watch the road. Autonomous Trucks: The Unglamorous Backbone The second gallery covers the vehicles doing the least glamorous, most economically important work in the entire industry: freight. Analysts increasingly agree that
Aug 16, 2026 · via futuristspeaker.com
KAMAZ has begun developing passenger transport with automated control. The Russian automaker expects to use the experience gained during the operation of autonomous trucks in creating driverless buses.
The project involves a gradual transition from technology testing to passenger transportation. The specific timing of the buses' release on the roads will depend on the readiness of automated driving systems, the results of truck testing, and the development of legislation.
KAMAZ has been refining autonomous control on long-haul trucks for several years. Since 2023, the company's driverless vehicles have been operating on the M-11 "Neva", CKAD, and M-12 "Vostok" highways. In May 2026, two KAMAZ driverless trucks for the first time carried out international cargo transportation between Russia and Kazakhstan. They covered a route of about 3,000 km, with individual sections completed entirely in autonomous mode.
Now, the data and engineering solutions accumulated on cargo routes are planned to be used for passenger vehicles. For buses, the task is more complex: the autonomous system will have to work not only with traffic flow but also with passengers, stops, pedestrians, and urban infrastructure.
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Aug 16, 2026 · via www1.ru
The first BELAZ-79550 new generation underground loader has entered factory tests. The 17.2-ton capacity machine was created for work in underground workings according to the requirements of "Nornickel". The load-haul-dump (LHD) machine received a 480 hp (353 kW) engine and a bucket with a nominal volume of 9 m³. The manufacturer expects that the combination of power and a spacious bucket will allow faster loading and transportation of large volumes of rock mass. For work in confined spaces, the LHD was equipped with an articulated frame with a folding angle of 42.5 degrees. The design should provide the machine with the necessary maneuverability when moving through mine workings. BELAZ also developed a separate spacious cabin for the new machine. The equipment includes a collision control system and an intelligent monitoring system of its own design. When creating the BELAZ-79550, the manufacturer maximized the use of components from enterprises in Belarus and Russia. Currently, the machine is undergoing factory tests according to a program that BELAZ developed jointly with the future consumer. The appearance of the BELAZ-79550 is associated with a joint program of BELAZ and "Nornickel" for the development of underground mining equipment. In July, the companies agreed to send a 17.2-ton loader and a 45-ton BELAZ-75855 underground dump truck for pilot industrial tests in the mines of the Polar Division. Комментарии
Aug 16, 2026 · via www1.ru
KAMAZ has begun developing passenger transport with automated control. The Russian automaker expects to use the experience gained during the operation of autonomous trucks in creating driverless buses. The project involves a gradual transition from technology testing to passenger transportation. The specific timing of the buses' release on the roads will depend on the readiness of automated driving systems, the results of truck testing, and the development of legislation. KAMAZ has been refining autonomous control on long-haul trucks for several years. Since 2023, the company's driverless vehicles have been operating on the M-11 "Neva", CKAD, and M-12 "Vostok" highways. In May 2026, two KAMAZ driverless trucks for the first time carried out international cargo transportation between Russia and Kazakhstan. They covered a route of about 3,000 km, with individual sections completed entirely in autonomous mode. Now, the data and engineering solutions accumulated on cargo routes are planned to be used for passenger vehicles. For buses, the task is more complex: the autonomous system will have to work not only with traffic flow but also with passengers, stops, pedestrians, and urban infrastructure. Read more on the topic: - From St. Petersburg to Kazan: Unmanned KamAZ trucks launched on the M-12 highway - "They performed pirouettes in front of them": Drivers repeatedly tried to "provoke" unmanned KamAZ trucks while driving, but there were no accidents
Aug 16, 2026 · via www1.ru
Zijin Longking rolled into a media ceremony in Longyan City, Fujian Province this week with the all-electric ZL230E electric mining truck – a 350-ton GVW haul truck that sits in a class of its own as the single largest-tonnage battery electric mining truck in China. Referred to as the LK350E (for its 350 ton GVWR), the new three-axle ZL230E (for its 230 ton payload capacity) is currently the largest-tonnage pure electric mining truck in China – with better-than-average odds of having the world title locked down, too! Developed by Zijin Longking and the autonomous mining experts at Australia’s EACON, the big haul truck represents another significant step for China’s “new energy” mining equipment, and further demonstrates the mining industry’s push into more green, sustainable operations. “The electrification and intelligentisation [sic] of mining operations are currently converging at an accelerated pace,” reads a statement released by Longking. “This strategic partnership will further foster synergy between new-energy mining equipment and autonomous driving technologies, extend the respective strengths of both parties into real-world mining environments, and jointly explore more efficient and intelligent mining transport solutions.” The truck, iteslf The new truck powers ahead with a pair of 800 kW electric motors fitted in each of the rear drive axles managed by advanced drive systems for coordinated, calculated power output that delivers real-time power matching across axles for sustained uphill power and maximum maneuverability in operationally complex mining environments. Power comes from an inconceivably massive 1,400 kWh battery pack fitted with a durable, high-capacity ultra-fast-charging battery system that the company says can support charging from 10 to 90% capacity in just 25 minutes, significantly reducing downtime compared to the hundreds-of-gallons diesel top-off the ICE-powered competition needs. EACON conducts the Orcestra The working partnership between the two companies combines Longking battery-powered truck platform with EACON’s
Aug 16, 2026 · via electrek.co