Self-driving charging technology company Aurora Innovation Inc. announced… “Rapidly expanding” its business operations by launching a second driverless route in Texas, extending 600 miles from Fort Worth to El Paso, the company said.
The move comes as the Pittsburgh-based company exceeds 100,000 driverless miles on public roads and shares its plan to deploy hundreds of driverless trucks with next-generation Aurora Driver devices in 2026, she said.
Aurora launched its inaugural route from Dallas to Houston six months ago, and says it now plans to deploy partner-requested driverless trucks next year. This expansion will be enabled by low-cost hardware and integration with multiple platforms, the company said.
The company’s “Aurora Driver” hardware is being integrated with Volvo’s VNL self-driving truck model, as well as a new fleet of international LT Series 8 vehicles.
“Integrating Aurora’s next-generation machines with Volvo VNL Autonomous on the demo line at our New River Valley facility represents an industry-first partnership and highlights the meaningful progress we are making together,” Nils Geiger, head of Volvo Autonomous Solutions, said in a statement. “By manufacturing trucks specifically designed for autonomous driving, we are going beyond prototypes and creating solutions that are scalable and ready to meet the demands of the modern supply chain.”
This news came on the same day that Uber announced plans to significantly expand its robotaxis and autonomous delivery fleets.
But the two movements are not without controversy, as the international drivers’ union, the Brotherhood of Truck Drivers, organized a march outside Boston City Hall to demand tougher restrictions on robotaxis.
The Teamsters coordinated the event with the United Labor Party coalition against Waymo, saying the coalition is the first mass mobilization effort outside of California to respond to the unfettered expansion of autonomous vehicles (AVs). “Driverless cars and trucks pose a serious threat to public safety, our communities, and the livelihoods of countless dedicated men and women across the commonwealth who work as professional drivers,” Tom Marey, president of Teamsters Local 25, said in a statement. “These machines do not benefit working people — they only serve the interests of out-of-state Big Tech billionaires, and their opinions should not outweigh the needs of Massachusetts residents.”
