First Driverless Heavy Duty Trucking Service Launched on US Public Roads

The autonomous service is being launched as labor groups are pushing for measures to protect truck driver jobs.

Semi-trucks line up near Pier J to retrieve shipping containers from a China-based ship at the Port of Long Beach, in Long Beach, Calif., on April 4, 2018. Bob Riha Jr./Reuters

Pennsylvania-based Aurora Innovation Inc. has launched a commercial self-driving trucking service in the state of Texas, conducting customer deliveries between Dallas and Houston, the company said in a May 1 statement.

The driverless trucking service uses Aurora’s flagship product “Aurora Driver,” a self-driving system that can “see over 450 meters ahead,” according to the company. Aurora says the truck is capable of spotting and reacting to pedestrians “up to 11 seconds sooner than human drivers at highway speeds at night.”