SAN FRANCISCO — Google’s self-driving expertise affiliate Waymo and truck fleet operator C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. mentioned on Wednesday they’d workforce as much as take a look at automated vans with security drivers behind the wheels in Texas within the coming months.

The partnership will permit C.H. Robinson to be among the many earlier customers of Waymo’s automated trucking expertise when it’s finally deployed, mentioned Chris O’Brien, Chief Business Officer of C.H. Robinson.

O’Brien mentioned improvement of autonomous long-haul vans will present welcome reduction to fleets that struggled with hauling capability restraints and persistent driver shortages even earlier than the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the state of affairs.

Various self-driving companies are scrambling to forge partnerships with truck makers, operators and prospects, accelerating the race to place automated vans on the street.

Lengthy-haul vans ought to be simpler to automate than robotaxis as a result of main highways are much less difficult environments than bustling metropolis roads. Nonetheless, Waymo was cautious how briskly they’ll ramp up.

“We even have numerous humility that our expertise resolution is only one piece of a really advanced puzzle,” mentioned Charlie Jatt, head of commercialization for trucking, Waymo By way of.

“It will take a gradual evolution to scale this to the total profit,” he mentioned.

Waymo has been creating autonomous driving expertise for over a decade, but it surely has but to scale up the expertise. It initially centered on robo-taxis however in 2017 arrange Waymo By way of to construct expertise for automated trucking and supply providers. The corporate additionally has partnerships with Daimler’s truck unit, long-haul trucker JB Hunt and bundle provider UPS .

Waymo is integrating its self-driving software program and sensors with Daimler vans. It has been testing with JB Hunt and UPS in Texas the place Waymo hopes to deploy totally autonomous trucking expertise within the subsequent few years.