IKEA Testing Self-Driving Truck Deliveries From Houston to Frisco

A California-based self-driving big rig company is partnering with IKEA to bring freight deliveries from a warehouse in Houston to the Swedish retailer’s store in Frisco.

The roughly 300-mile pilot program has a semitruck equipped with Kodiak Robotics’ autonomous driving system making daily trips since August.

The trucks have human safety drivers on board, but they’re being driven by the self-driving system from Kodiak.

Kodiak’s CEO, Don Burnette, says it’s not about putting truck drivers out of business. Instead, he’s aiming to make their lives easier.

“The purpose of this is to get a better understanding of Kodiak’s autonomous driving technology and how it can contribute to increased road safety and ultimately determine how to improve the quality of life for drivers,” Burnette told The Dallas Morning News.

The company has been running freight in Texas with its autonomous test trucks since 2019, and recently opened a new route between Dallas and Oklahoma City, CNBC reports. Kodiak has also conducted pilot tests with logistics giants Werner Enterprises and U.S. Xpress, running self-driving trucks on routes from Dallas to Lake City, Florida, and Atlanta, respectively.

Burnette said the company hasn’t had any safety issues on its Interstate 45 routes, even though its trucks encountered everything from construction to stalled vehicles.

Texas has become a hotbed for self-driving truck testing, in part because of favorable regulations — and also because the long highway stretches between its cities are ideal for automation.

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