Dive Brief:
- Atlas Energy Solutions and Kodiak Robotics are collaborating to commercialize self-driving trucks for delivering frac sand across West Texas in the Permian Basin, as announced on Tuesday.
- Kodiak will install its technology on Atlas-owned trucks, which Atlas has ordered under a driver-as-a-service licensing agreement.
- By the end of the year, Kodiak’s technology will be operating 24/7 for the energy company, according to a video released about the partnership.
Dive Insight:
A self-driving truck has already completed a 21-mile delivery from an Atlas depot to a wellsite without a driver, according to the company and Kodiak. Despite challenges like dust storms and heat on private, leased roads with average speeds under 20 mph, the autonomous trucks are navigating the harsh conditions effectively.
“Our partnership with Atlas will make us the first autonomous semi-truck company to establish commercial driverless operations and the first company to make autonomous trucking a real business,” said Don Burnette, Kodiak CEO and founder, in the announcement.
Other companies are also advancing in this field, with Einride operating a driverless truck in Tennessee and Gatik initiating self-driving operations in Bentonville and northwest Arkansas, the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and the Toronto area.
Early next year, Atlas plans to operate two Kodiak-equipped trucks. Burnette referred to this as the “beginning of a new era for autonomous vehicles.”