Vay’s technology compliments Kodiak’s fully autonomous operations with remote, human assistance
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Vay and Kodiak partner to integrate assisted autonomy technology
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(Photo: Kodiak Robotics/Vay)
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Vay, a maker of automotive-grade remote driving technology, recently announced a strategic partnership with Kodiak Robotics to incorporate Vay’s remote driving technology into Kodiak’s autonomous tech stack. The partnership, announced on Wednesday, enables Kodiak’s Assisted Autonomy technology to remotely control driverless trucks with a human operator for specific scenarios like low-speed navigation via a human operator.
Assisted Autonomy is part of the broader Kodiak Driver functionality. Through this collaboration, Kodiak has deployed Vay Stations and software tools that enable low-latency communications between the stations and Kodiak Driver-powered vehicles.
“Assisted Autonomy provides the Kodiak Driver with more flexibility to deliver our customers’ freight in a greater range of locations and scenarios,” said Don Burnette, founder and CEO of Kodiak in a press release. “No matter the maturity of an autonomous driving system, there are still scenarios that will benefit from human assistance, if only as a backup.”
Kodiak is using Vay’s technology as part of its Permian Basin autonomous operations in West Texas and Eastern New Mexico, where their driverless trucks are operating. The technology being used in low-speed operations at customer facilities and complex interactions such as interpreting law enforcement hand signals.
“Over the last year, Vay has proven the use cases for remote driving—both in B2C and B2B settings. The strategic partnership with Kodiak will expand the B2B use cases to trucks,” said Thomas von der Ohe, co-founder and CEO of Vay in the release. “We are excited to partner with Kodiak to help make trucking and freight delivery safer and more efficient by marrying the value of human decision-making with autonomous operations.”
Vay’s stations allow for real-time streaming of a near 360-degree view around Kodiak trucks. All Assisted Autonomy drivers hold Commercial Driver’s Licenses and undergo rigorous training. The system employs multiple redundant communications protocols to ensure connectivity with the trucks.
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Torc expands with new engineering center in Michigan
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Self-driving truck tech maker Torc Robotics announced on Tuesday the establishment of a new engineering center in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The strategic expansion aims to speed up the company’s efforts toward its 2027 commercialization goal while taking advantage of the region’s robust automotive and technology talent pool.
As part of this expansion, Torc collaborated with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation to secure incentives supporting its growth in the state. The company plans significant hiring to enhance its technical capabilities in the region.
“This strategic location is a natural fit for Torc as we continue to advance our autonomous technology,” said Jamie Swaim, chief people officer at Torc in a press release. “Ann Arbor’s proximity to the Detroit automotive industry and a wealth of high-tech talent, combined with the exceptional concentration of high-caliber universities and colleges, makes it an ideal environment for our growth and productization strategy.”
The new 32,000-square-foot facility, in northeast Ann Arbor, will feature multiple collaboration spaces and hardware-in-the-loop labs. The center will host a diverse range of engineering roles, including experts in machine learning, software, hardware, and systems engineering, alongside positions in product engineering and safety.
Torc’s Ann Arbor facility complements its existing operations in Blacksburg, Virginia (headquarters), Austin, Texas, Montreal, Canada, and the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
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Samsara Beyond, telematics push the boundaries of truck technology
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(Photo: Thomas Wasson/FreightWaves)
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It wouldn’t be Truck Tech without a mention for telematics and hardware, which increasingly is becoming a prominent feature on newer trucks. I recently attended the Samsara Beyond event in San Diego and what struck me was the fusion between hardware, technology and telematics. It came in the form of AI powered devices with extra cameras providing localized compute to identify people and objects outside the truck.
Readers may remember earlier news about Nvidia Drive Thor, which is tackling the same issue of getting more compute locally for the flood of video, LiDAR and radar data that autonomous vehicles are processing. Samsara partners with a few autonomous vehicle companies who are using the telematics as part of their fleet management suite.
Wearable devices was a new announcement that caught me off guard. Drivers fall out of their trucks more frequently than one would imagine, and it can be 3 to 4 feet off the ground between the seat and the pavement. The new wearable has gyroscopic innards to detect falls, and a button that can be pressed to signal an emergency and notify back office staff if something has gone wrong. It also has a silent mode in the event where discreetness is required, such as if you are the victim of an active cargo theft, or delivering into a location that suddenly became unsafe.
AI and machine learning was the buzzword, but the fascinating takeaway was using generative AI to help clean and categorize the raw data that is used for machine learning. One engineer talked about how, at first, they used generative AI for predictive properties, e.g. taking a cleaned machine learning output and using it to predict. However, they also discovered that using generative AI on the front end removed some of the tedious processes involved in categorizing what this raw data is and where it should go.
This may also explain some of the rapid changes in autonomous trucking and electric vehicle charging, where generative AI is helping fleets navigate and charge without the need to gather thousands of added hours of data. If the machine learning sample is sufficient, the generative AI can speed up edge case scenarios.
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Los Angeles-based Warp recently secured a $10M Series A. Funding was led by Up.Partners and Blue Bear Capital. The tech-powered middle-mile logistics company plans to use the funds to accelerate its AI systems and launch a fully robotic cross-dock.
Silicon Valley based Applied Intuition announced it has raised $600 million in Series F funding at a $15 billion. BlackRock and Kleiner Perkins led the raise. Applied Intuition’s software helps autonomous vehicle developers prepare work around edge cases via its full stack ecosystem, including foundation models, autonomy, voice, generative AI, simulation, and developer tools.
Advanced battery materials startup Nascent Materials recently closed on $2.3 million in Seed funding. SOSV led the round, with participation from the New Jersey Innovation Evergreen Fund and UM6P Ventures. Nascent Materials have developed a proprietary, flexible pCAM-free process for manufacturing cathode materials, critical components of lithium-ion batteries.
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Registration Now Open for Supply Chain AI Symposium in Washington, D.C.
The future of freight is intelligent. Are you ready?
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Whether you lead a Fortune 100 supply chain, build AI models or sling freight for a living, this symposium offers a unique opportunity to explore how AI is being implemented in the world of the supply chain. Gain insights into cutting-edge advancements, practical applications and trends shaping the freight industry.
Space is limited, so register now to save your spot!
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As always, thanks for watching and reading.
Thomas Wasson
twasson@firecrown.com
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