In 2019, new startup Kodiak Robotics opened a facility in the North Texas city of Lancaster to test its self-driving trucking technology. Less than four years later, the company will begin its operations, and on a familiar freeway.
This week, the company announced it was partnering with refrigerated trucking carrier C.R. England. Together, the companies will ship Tyson Foods products, autonomously, between Dallas and San Antonio, most likely right down Interstate 35.
“One of the categories where C.R. England is a leader is in perishable foods, which require the safest, most reliable, on-time delivery possible,” CEO of C.R. England Chad England said, in a statement. “Kodiak’s proven performance and commitment to customer success makes it a great partner to help us introduce autonomous service into our operations.”
Beginning in April, deliveries will feature a human operator inside the autonomous truck. C.R. England will, with a human driver, deliver a refrigerated trailer already filled with Tyson products to Kodiak’s North Texas facility. Kodiak will affix its self-driving truck to the trailer, which will then be autonomously delivered — alongside, for now, a human operator — to San Antonio. A human driver will then re-attach the trailer to a C.R. England truck and continue to Laredo.
The companies hope to complete the process up to five times each month. According to TechCrunch, Kodiak Robotics would like to remove the human safety operator on the routes in about a year.
The collaboration comes as Kodiak Robotics ramps up its pilot programs. Recently, Kodiak Robotics announced another pilot program alongside Forward Air Corporation to autonomously ship goods between Dallas and Atlanta.
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