Volvo Autonomous Solutions has formed a long-term strategic partnership with US-based self-driving company Aurora to jointly develop on-highway autonomous trucks, with an initial focus on hub-to-hub applications for customers in North America. The partnership will center on the integration of the Aurora Driver into Volvo’s on-highway trucks and the development of industry-leading Transport as a Service solutions.
The Aurora Driver consists of sensors that perceive the world, software that plans a safe path through it, and a computer that powers and integrates them both with the vehicle.
“Creating a viable autonomous on-highway offering requires close partnerships with both customers and tech partners to develop the needed capabilities,” explained Nils Jaeger, president of Volvo Autonomous Solutions. “This exciting partnership brings our goal of Transport as a Service an important step closer and will accelerate our commercial offer for hub-to-hub applications in North America. Aurora is already a leading force in autonomous systems, and its integrated self-driving stack, software, hardware and data services platform combine to offer a clear path towards efficient and safe on-highway solutions in the medium term.”
“Since the first project together in 2018, Aurora has developed a deep respect for Volvo, its engineering process, and its commitment to safety,” added Sterling Anderson, co-founder and chief product officer at Aurora. “With the groundwork now laid through the establishment of Volvo Autonomous Solutions and the creation of Aurora’s industry-leading sensor suite, we’re excited to join forces to develop self-driving solutions with Volvo’s impressive network of customers.”
The partnership follows a similar collaboration agreement in 2019 between Volvo Group and NVIDIA to jointly develop the decision making system of autonomous commercial vehicles and machines, utilizing NVIDIA’s end-to-end artificial intelligence platform for training, simulation and in-vehicle computing. Volvo says this partnership “will continue in parallel” with its collaboration with Aurora.
Aurora is backed by Amazon and Sequoia, among others, and has partnerships with leading transportation companies including PACCAR, Uber, FCA and Hyundai Group.