The U.S. Postal Service on Tuesday started a two-week test transporting mail across three Southwestern states using self-driving trucks, a step forward in the effort to commercialise autonomous vehicle technology for hauling freight.
The TuSimple self-driving truck pictured in undated handout photo obtained by Reuters on May 20, 2019
San Diego-based startup, TuSimple, said its self-driving trucks would haul mail between USPS facilities in Phoenix and Dallas to see how the nascent technology might improve delivery times and costs.
A safety driver will sit behind the wheel to intervene if necessary and an engineer will ride in the passenger seat.
If successful, it would mark an achievement for the autonomous driving industry and a possible solution to the driver shortage and regulatory constraints faced by freight haulers across the country.
The pilot programme involves five round trips, each totaling more than 2,100 miles (3,380 km) or around 45 hours of driving.
It is however unclear whether self-driving mail delivery will continue after the two-week pilot.
“The work with TuSimple is our first initiative in autonomous long-haul transportation.
“We are conducting research and testing as part of our efforts to operate a future class of vehicles which will incorporate new technology,” USPS spokeswoman Kim Frum said.
TuSimple and the USPS declined to disclose the cost of the programme, but Frum said no tax dollars were used and the agency relied on revenue from sales of postage and other products.
TuSimple has raised $178 million in private financing, including from chip maker, Nvidia Corp and Chinese online media company, Sina Corp.
The trucks will travel on major interstates and pass through Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.
“This run is really in the sweet spot of how we believe autonomous trucks will be used.
“These long runs are beyond the range of a single human driver, which means today if they do this run they have to figure out how to cover it with multiple drivers in the vehicle.
“The goal is to eliminate the need for a driver, freeing shippers and freight-haulers from the constraints of a worsening driver shortage,” TuSimple Chief Product Officer, Chuck Price, said.
The American Trucking Association estimates a shortage of as many as 174,500 drivers by 2024, due to an aging workforce and the difficulty of attracting younger drivers. (Reuters/NAN)