A driver shortage is spurring demand for self-driving trucks that operate on highways on long-haul routes.  Interestingly, truck routes are less complicated for autonomous vehicles to maneuver than tricky urban city roads.

The United States Postal Service commissioned a two-week pilot test for TuSimple’s self-driving semis, to perfect the AI-based on-highway autonomous technology.

The semis were loaded with mail to complete five roundtrip runs between distribution facilities in Phoenix and Dallas.

Video Spotlight: Self-driving trucking start-up CFO on its new partnership with USPS

This post is based on the Forbes article, U.S. Postal Service Delivers Mail Using TuSimple’s Self-Driving Trucks, by Alan Ohnsman, May 21, 2019; and the YouTube video, Self-driving trucking start-up CFO on its new partnership with USPS, by CNBC Television, May 28, 2019. Image source: Chesky/Shutterstock

Discussion Questions:

1. What are the operational benefits of autonomous truck hauling services?

Guidance: One benefit is offsetting the shortage of human drivers. It should also save costs; large-scale commercialization of highway autonomous technology means higher productivity when using the truck as the input. Human drivers are limited by law to the number of hours they can drive, for safety reasons. Remove the driver Continue reading →