It’s been said over and over again; autonomous cars are the future. This has prompted many vehicle manufactures to initiate plans that will help them compete fairly in the future. The automotive world is changing and less people want to actually own cars. Ride share has become a global phenomenon and interest is shifting towards self-driving vehicles.

The merits of self driving vehicles far outweigh concerns raised by critics. There is a great need to reduce accidents caused by human error and dependency. Is this technology perfect? Not at all, but the hope is that it will help reduce car accidents.  America’s $700 billion-a-year trucking industry is also undergoing a revamp with trucking companies embracing autonomous technology and incorporating it in their trucks. In this post, we will shed some light on Embark, a self-driving trucking startup.

 

More about Embark Self-Driving Trucks

 

Embark self-driving truck is a startup known to operate a long route of automated freight using a large fleet of trucks. In 2017, the company raised $15 million in a Series A funding. The fund will be utilized for acquiring new talents to join the company’s team and also to increase the number of trucks on the road. Embark’s trucks are equipped with autonomous technology that focus on driving on the freeway while the drivers will handle driving within the city.

According to the company, the aim is not to eliminate humans entirely but to reduce human dependency and makeup for the shortage of qualified truck drivers. This will also reduce the strain on truck drivers who no longer have to drive all the routes.

In February of 2018, Embark completed a coast to coast trip of 2,400 miles from Los Angeles to Jacksonville. The truck had a safety driver behind the wheel to take over if the need arises. Due to the presence of said driver, the truck had to make scheduled stops which made the trip last a total of 5 days. Embark is hopeful that the trip would last 2 days in normal circumstances.

The company is growing and hopes to acquire about 40 trucks to boost services by year end.

 

Conclusion

The emergence of self-driving trucks is a welcome development that will greatly reduce the strain on truck drivers. These trucks drive thousands of miles cross-country regularly; this can begin to take a toll on drivers.

In 2016, rideshare giant Uber launched “the world’s first Self-Driving” taxis in Pittsburgh which received mostly positive reviews. The company later moved on from taxis to self-driving trucks by acquiring trucking company Otto. The face of trucking is changing and drivers have less work to do if the autonomous technology is fully incorporated. Now, the trip can be shared between drivers and the self driving technology these trucks are equipped with. This is a win-win for everyone; humans still get to keep their jobs and the trucking companies have better control over their fleet and human resources.

 

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