Pittsburgh-based Locomation Inc. has showcased its hardware at two public events in recent days as it readies to commercially deploy its autonomous vehicle technology on trucks across the country, which could come as early as 2023.
At its most recent event on Monday, Locomation hosted members of the media as well as Department of Community & Economic Development (DCED) Acting Secretary Neil Weaver and DCED Deputy Secretary Steve D'Ettorre at the company's 40,000-square-foot headquarters in Lawrenceville. There, Locomation had two of its trucks on display in its vast showroom and offered tours inside the driving cab and around the exterior of the two tractors. The startup — which was co-founded in 2018 by CEO Cetin Mericli, CTO Tekin Mericli, VP of Engineering Michael George, VP of Autonomy Venkataramanan Rajagopalan and Chief Scientist Alonzo Kelly — also demonstrated how its various cameras and sensors mounted on the truck's mirrors and other exterior parts are capable of detecting and identifying various objects.
DCED's attendance at the event is the second time in two months that Gov. Tom Wolf's administration has visited the headquarters of a Pittsburgh AV company, as Wolf himself attended the official opening of Aurora Innovation Inc.'s new headquarters in the Strip District back in April. Aurora, like Locomation, is looking to begin the commercial deployment of its autonomous trucking service in 2023.
"Locomation is part of Pittsburgh's innovation ecosystem that for many years we used to say was budding or on the rise," Weaver said. "Now, after working at DCED for the better part of the last seven years and talking with countless out-of-state, international businesses and site selectors, I can say with confidence that Pittsburgh's tech sector isn't a secret anymore. It's become a globally renowned hub for innovation, particularly in robotics and (artificial intelligence), and it's fitting that we're here at Locomation today because this company is a perfect example of the types of businesses that are flourishing here in Pittsburgh."
Weaver went on to explain why he is a believer in Locomation's ability to tackle the ongoing supply chain disruptions and national truck driver shortage with its Autonomous Relay Convoy (ARC) technology.
With ARC, Locomation can have two trucks electronically tethered, with the first being controlled by a human driver while a second driver rests in the autonomously-operated follower truck behind the first. The trucks and driver roles periodically swap places throughout a trip to allow the drivers to take turns sleeping, which also allows for the functioning time of the two trucks to double, reaching between 20-22 hours per day. All of this also occurs while ensuring that the drivers remain within their operating hours of compliance as set by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
"There is no smoke and mirrors, folks, there is no pie in the sky promise; this is a very, very difficult engineering problem but it is an engineering problem nonetheless," Cetin Mericli said before noting that ARC aims to solve existing challenges like driver shortages, limited freight capacities and rising fuel costs. "Our realistic approach is resonating deeply with other realistic people in the industry, which are the trucking companies who are living and suffering from the pain points that I just mentioned at scale."
One of such trucking companies to sign a bonafide contract with Locomation is Pittsburgh-based PGT Trucking, which on May 20 showed off one of its trucks equipped with Locomation's tech as part of an innovation showcase event hosted at PGT's headquarters in Aliquippa. Over the coming years, PGT anticipates deploying 1,000 trucks with Locomation's tech across more than 30 route segments.
"That's how much confidence we have in the technology and what it will bring PGT," Gregg Troian, PGT president, said during the May 20 event. "This will not totally eliminate driver jobs; we still need drivers, we're still going to need a lot of drivers so if you're in recruiting with PGT, don't worry, you still have a job, you still have to go and find drivers. But it will help relieve some of the pressure that we experience every day."
Wilson Logistics, a family-owned trucking and logistics provider based out of Springfield, Missouri, announced in March that it made a recommitment to deploy 1,120 trucks in its flagship fleet with Locomation technology starting potentially as early as the end of this year and continuing on over the course of the next several years. The commitment came after Wilson's December 2021 sale of its West Coast trucking operations to Ashley Pacific Northwest LLC, a subsidiary of Ashley Distribution Services (ADS) that delivers Ashley Furniture to Ashley stores and customers. A week after that announcement and in nearby Strafford, Missouri, Christenson Transportation Inc. announced it would take up to 500 trucks equipped with Locomation's tech.
Locomation employs more than 140 workers globally, about 100 of whom work out of the company's Lawrenceville headquarters. It has raised more than $60 million in funding to date.
