Pittsburgh-based Aurora Innovation has begun completing nighttime delivery runs on I-45 using its autonomous trucks.
The company launched the nighttime routes between Dallas and Houston on July 27, expanding operations beyond daytime deliveries, which began in April. Aurora now has three autonomous trucks running continuously along the interstate corridor.
Aurora reported surpassing 20,000 driverless miles by the end of June. The milestone increases the company’s truck utilization and delivery potential, with officials claiming the ability to drive at night helps shorten delivery times and boost profit margins.
“Efficiency, uptime, and reliability are important for our customers, and Aurora is showing we can deliver,” said Chris Urmson, co-founder and CEO of Aurora, in a July 30 press release.
“Just three months after launch, we’re running driverless operations day and night and we’ve expanded our terminal network to Phoenix. Our rapid progress is beginning to unlock the full value of self-driving trucks for our customers, which has the potential to transform the trillion-dollar trucking industry.”
Aurora says its autonomous trucks may help make roads safer. According to the company, 37% of fatal crashes involving large trucks occur at night, often due to driver fatigue and reduced visibility.
The Aurora Driver system, it claims, can operate day or night without losing performance.
The company has also launched trips between Fort Worth and its new terminal in Phoenix. Officials say the ability to operate without a human behind the wheel allows trucks to exceed legal drive-time limits and complete long-haul routes faster.
“Fort Worth to Phoenix is nearly half the distance of the busy Atlanta to Los Angeles freight corridor, taking more than 15 hours to complete. Self-driving trucks can halve transit times, especially on long routes that exceed the 11-hour driving limit for human drivers,” the company said.
Aurora recently launched “Aurora Driver Live,” a publicly available YouTube livestream showing real-time footage of its I-45 operations