Dive Brief:
- Aurora Innovation, which is finalizing a safety review for its self-driving truck technology, extended a goal of completing a safety readiness analysis from the end of 2023 to around the end of Q1 2024, according to a Nov. 1 shareholder report.
- The tech company has been working through some 460 claims and realized it needed more time in that process, but it won’t need to add additional resources in that area, co-founder and CEO Chris Urmson said on a Q3 earnings call.
- “While the vast majority of this work will be done,” Urmson said, “it won't have any impact on our commercial timing,” repeating that the company still plans to have a commercial launch by the end of 2024.
Dive Insight:
Aurora completed its self-driving capabilities in early 2023 and has been working to finish safety assessments, where the company justifies statements about its technology.
Previously, Aurora noted its Autonomy Readiness Measure, which Urmson described as a weighted measure of completeness across claims of its safety case and its Dallas-Houston launch lane, was 84% complete at the end of Q3.
“An autonomy system’s performance must be validated against a vast number of scenarios, many of which are thankfully rare on public roads,” Urmson said.
Even when an Aurora self-driving truck encounters instances of aggressive driving, it’s able to safely navigate potential problems, according to the company.
For example, its computer system can avoid sideswipes and also cancel a plan to switch lanes to avoid a collision if a passenger vehicle is quickly moving across multiple lanes of traffic, Urmson said.
While the safety readiness analysis continues, Aurora will endeavor to make the technology work in other places, given tougher operating environments.
As of Oct. 29, the company has autonomously delivered — under the supervision of vehicle operators — over 3,200 loads, driving over 895,000 commercial miles, Urmson said, naming pilot customers that include FedEx, Werner Enterprises, Schneider National, Hirschbach Motor Lines and Uber Freight.
“We are more confident than ever in our leadership position and see our advantage continuing to grow,” Urmson said.
