Kodiak Robotics, a US-based self-driving trucking company, says it has expanded its autonomous freight service to Florida with 10 Roads Express, a provider of time-sensitive surface transportation for the US Postal Service.
To launch the partnership, Kodiak completed a round trip consisting of four commercial deliveries, including a coast-to-coast commercial run. A Kodiak autonomous truck carried 10 Roads Express freight over 9,000km from San Antonio, Texas, to the San Francisco Bay Area in California, to Jacksonville, Florida, and back to San Antonio. The route was completed in just 114 hours. Using its lightweight mapping solution, Kodiak states that it mapped more than 8,600 new kilometers in a single mapping run to bring the new route online.
“We are focused on servicing routes that fit the real-world needs of our customers,” said Don Burnette, founder and CEO at Kodiak. “10 Roads Express’s network of long length-of-haul routes makes it an ideal partner for Kodiak. Our unique lightweight mapping system allowed us to expand into Florida in a fraction of the time it would take to build traditional AV maps, enabling us to service some of the nation’s busiest coast-to-coast freight lanes. This expansion further demonstrates the scalability and flexibility of our autonomous solution, the Kodiak Driver.”
As part of the partnership, 10 Roads will join Kodiak’s Partnership Deployment Program to evaluate the potential of integrating Kodiak’s autonomous solution into its fleet in the coming years.
“10 Roads Express carries some of the most high-priority freight in the trucking business,” said Wayne Hoovestol, CEO of 10 Roads Express. “We are committed to exploring all opportunities to create better jobs for our drivers while providing exceptional service to our customers. This partnership is an opportunity to stay abreast of this technology’s progress and evaluate its benefits. By partnering with Kodiak now, 10 Roads can build the operational expertise we need to efficiently integrate autonomous trucks into our fleet in the coming years.”