[AutonomousVehicles] Waymo Via is scaling up autonomous trucking operations in Texas, Arizona and California

[Cornelius Butler]

Hi Fellow Committee Members,
Waymo Via is expanding autonomous trucking. Below is the article link and
article text.

Article Link:
https://techcrunch.com/2021/08/18/waymo-via-is-scaling-up-autonomous-trucking-operations-in-texas-arizona-california/

Article Text:

Waymo Via is scaling up autonomous trucking operations in Texas, Arizona
and California
Rebecca Bellan at rebeccabellan / 12:05 PM EDT•August 18, 2021

Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving arm, is building a dedicated trucking hub in
Dallas and partnering with Ryder for fleet management services in a
two-pronged move to seriously scale up its autonomous trucking operations
across Texas, Arizona and California.

This news comes just a couple of months after Waymo announced a $2.5
billion raise that it would use to continue growing its autonomous driving
platform, the Waymo Driver, as well as its team. Waymo has been ramping up
testing on the fifth generation of the Driver on Class 8 trucks, hauling
freight for carriers like J.B. Hunt along Interstate 45 between Houston and
Fort Worth, Texas and working with Daimler Trucks to develop a robust level
4 redundant vehicle platform, according to a spokesperson for the company.
According to the Society of Automotive Engineers, level 4 autonomy means
the vehicle can drive itself without a human but only in predefined areas.

Waymo has already broken ground on the new 9-acre trucking hub, which will
be built specifically for Waymo Via, the company’s autonomous trucking
operations, in Dallas-Forth Worth to service one of the busiest corridors
in the country. Designed for commercial use, the hub is expected to
accommodate hundreds of trucks as the company scales in the region and
amplifies larger and more complex autonomous testing. Waymo says it will
help the company spread out operations in Texas beyond the I-45 and across
the I-10 and I-20. The location is well situated to support long-haul
routes across state borders and connect with Waymo’s Phoenix operations
center. Waymo said it plans to move into the facility during the first half
of next year.

This is where the Ryder partnership comes in. The Dallas hub will be a
central launch point for testing not only the Waymo Driver, but also its
transfer hub model, which is a mix of automated and manual trucking that
optimizes transfer hubs near highways to ensure the Waymo Driver is
sticking to main thoroughfares and human drivers are handling first and
last mile deliveries. Scaling this model will require a high level of
organization, and Ryder’s fleet management services and standardized fleet
maintenance across over 500 facilities should be up to the job.

The partnership includes fleet maintenance, inspections and roadside
assistance across all of the Waymo Via hubs and testing sites, including
the new Dallas facility. Given Ryder’s size and influence and Waymo’s
access to AV fleet data, the two companies will also work on a blueprint
for autonomous truck maintenance and optimized performance.

“While this partnership initially focuses on fleet maintenance, we see many
opportunities to collaborate on autonomous trucking operations in order to
successfully deploy these trucks at scale,” said Karen Jones, chief
marketing officer and head of new product development for Ryder, in a
statement. “Already, we’ve collaborated on the layout and design of Waymo’s
new Dallas facility to ensure it’s optimized for serviceability of trucks
and for the transfer hub model they plan to pursue in the near future.
Autonomous Class 8 technology is quickly taking hold, and Ryder is poised
to become a leader — not only in servicing trucks but also in managing the
unique logistics of autonomous operations.”
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