Self-driving truck startup Kodiak Robotics mentioned that it has begun a pilot program with IKEA in Texas.

A semitruck outfitted with Kodiak’s autonomous driving system is making each day supply runs from an IKEA warehouse close to Houston to a retailer near Dallas, roughly 300 miles away.

The vehicles have human security drivers on board, however they’re being pushed by Kodiak’s autonomous-driving system.

Kodiak’s CEO, Don Burnette, mentioned that he is not trying to put truck drivers out of enterprise – actually, he is aiming to make their lives simpler.

“Adopting autonomous trucking expertise can enhance drivers’ high quality of life by specializing in the native driving jobs most desire to do,” Burnette mentioned. “Collectively [with IKEA] we are able to improve security, enhance working situations for drivers, and create a extra sustainable freight transportation system.”

This is not Kodiak’s first self-driving rodeo. The corporate has been working freight in Texas with its autonomous take a look at vehicles since 2019, and just lately opened a brand new route between Dallas and Oklahoma Metropolis. Kodiak has additionally performed pilot exams with logistics giants Werner Enterprises and U.S. Xpress, working self-driving vehicles on routes from Dallas to Lake Metropolis, Florida, and Atlanta, respectively.

Texas has change into a hotbed for self-driving truck testing, partly due to favorable rules — and in addition as a result of the lengthy freeway stretches between its cities are perfect for automation. Waymo, the Alphabet subsidiary that grew out of the Google Self-Driving Automobile Mission, has been testing a fleet of self-driving Freightliner semitrucks (with human security drivers) on a route between Dallas and Houston for a number of months.

Self-driving truck startup Aurora Innovation has additionally been testing vehicles in Texas. Aurora started a Texas pilot with Werner Enterprises in April, working on a 600-mile stretch between Fort Price and El Paso. One other startup, TuSimple, has been testing its self-driving semitrucks in Arizona and is planning to develop to Texas subsequent 12 months.