Autonomous trucks have at last hit Virginia roads.
Blacksburg self-driving tech firm Torc Robotics announced that it has begun testing autonomous trucks on Virginia highways in partnership with Daimler, one of the world's largest automakers.
The Stuttgart, Germany-based company behind Mercedes-Benz is initially driving the trucks – using Torc software – on highways in southwest Virginia, near the Torc Robotics headquarters.
The pair has gone through months of testing and safety validation on a closed-loop track since Daimler acquired the startup in April.
"Being part of Daimler Trucks is the start of a new chapter for Torc," Torc CEO Michael Fleming said in a statement. "Our whole team is thrilled to be working alongside our Daimler colleagues as we pursue the commercialization of Level 4 trucks to bring this technology to the market because we strongly believe it can save lives."
Level 4 autonomous vehicles are capable of operating with limited human oversight under select conditions, as defined by the Society of Automotive Engineers. The trucks are Freightliner Cascadias retrofitted with lidar sensors, cameras, radars and Torc’s self-driving software. They will have trained drivers and engineers onboard as they pull trailers on roads nearby Blacksburg.
Torc was founded in 2005 by Virginia Tech engineers, initially focused on general automated technologies but pivoting in 2017 to self-driving car software. More recently, it partnered with Transdev to build fully driverless shuttles. It also expanded its Blacksburg headquarters.
"Asimov," its automated driving system, has been tested in urban and long-distance routes as well as in rain, snow, fog and varying light conditions.
Torc is a part of the new Autonomous Technology Group of Daimler Trucks, which is consolidating its expertise and initiatives with locations in Blacksburg, Portland and Stuttgart. The companies said Daimler Trucks North America and Torc will focus on evolving self-driving technology for heavy-duty trucks through the Blacksburg program.
"Torc Robotics is a leader in automated driving technology. Daimler Trucks is the market leader in trucks and we understand the needs of the industry," Daimler board member Martin Baum said in a statement. "Bringing Level 4 trucks to the public roads is a major step toward our goal to deliver reliable and safe trucks for the benefits of our customers, our economies and society."
Daimler stands to improve its own economy through AV development as well. Even before widespread adoption, the autonomous vehicle market is expected to reach $54.23 billion this year, according to Allied Market Research.
For a deep dive into the technology, check out this Daimler podcast featuring Torc CEO Michael Fleming.
