Aurora shines a light on autonomous truck technology, strategy before PSPC merger

On Interstate 45 in Texas, a billboard with “Aurora” at the top in giant white letters delivers a cryptic message: “A new way of driving is on the horizon.

It’s hard to know how many of the thousands of drivers on this stretch of road know what that means or what Aurora is; Little is known about the autonomous vehicle tech company even though it (along with several competitors) aims to forever change the way people and packages get from point A to point B.

But Aurora, which plans to join government procurement through a merger with a blank check company, put the spotlight on its products this week, inviting reporters, analysts and partners like PACCAR, Toyota and Volvo, as well as new investors to get into its autonomous trucks and take a closer look at its technology. He also shared an update on his operations, including starting to map and test a new route in Texas.

The so-called “Aurora Illuminated” event took place at a convenient time for the company. Aurora, which was founded in 2017 by Sterling Anderson, Drew Bagnell and Chris Urmson, has more than doubled in size to reach over 1,600 employees in less than a year with the acquisition of the Autonomous Driving Unit d ‘Uber.

It is now on the cusp of becoming a publicly traded company with an implied valuation of $ 13 billion through a merger with special purpose acquisition firm Reinvent Technology Partners Y. The deal, which was announced in July and TechCrunch’s earlier reports confirmed, is expected to end in a shareholder vote this year. If approved, Aurora will make its public debut on the Nasdaq shortly thereafter. The company did not disclose any of these dates.

To say that Aurora officially “succeeded” would be presumptive and premature. But the company has overcome a number of hurdles – including raising significant capital, securing key partnerships and ramping up testing – that put it on the path to commercialization. And he’s made significant strides in the competitive landscape of autonomous trucking where other well-funded companies and partners – such as the publicly traded Waymo and TuSimple and smaller startups like Gatik and Kodiak Robotics – play.

The story continues

Progress report

Aurora first landed in Texas a year ago. Today, it uses its autonomous trucks (still with two security drivers) to haul loads for Barcel, the maker of spicy chips and snacks Takis, along a route in Texas between its terminals in Dallas, Palmer and Houston. . The company has also started moving freight for FedEx between Dallas and Houston as part of a pilot program announced earlier this month. Paccar trucks equipped with Aurora technology will be used several times a week to travel nearly 500 miles along Interstate 45, according to FedEx.

The plan is to add more terminals in El Paso and San Antonio, then expand west to Phoenix and Los Angeles, south to Laredo, and east to New York. -Orléans. The network Aurora envisions will encompass the western and eastern coasts and eventually the entire country.

Aurora hasn’t shared when he expects to go beyond Texas. It has just started testing – without freight – the 630-mile road between El Paso and Dallas.

On the routes it hauls, the company has consistently delivered on time, according to co-founder and product manager Sterling Anderson.

“It’s great and an exciting example of operational excellence,” said co-founder and CEO Chris Urmson in an interview at the event. “Longer term, because we won’t have the hours of service limitations when we can drive our vehicles without a driver on board – than when there is a dramatic leap forward. “

Image credits: Dawn

The path

The ride, which TechCrunch has completed twice, began in the parking lot of its Dallas South Terminal in Palmer, Texas.

The truck is a Peterbilt 579 integrated into Aurora’s autonomous vehicle system and customized in partnership with Paccar. The system, which the company has dubbed the “Aurora Pilot,” includes cameras, radar, and a combination of long- and medium-range light detection sensors and ranging radar sensors called lidar. Long-range lidar was developed in-house after its acquisition of Blackmore. (Aurora has since acquired a second lidar company, OURS Technology. The mid-range lidar sensors are from an undisclosed vendor.

A huge computer with cooling units sits at the rear of the cabin. Other screens, including one that shows the vehicle in motion, its intended path, and image classifications made along the way, are also in the cab. Two security operators are in the vehicle. The so-called pilot holds a Commercial Truck Driver’s License, or CDL, and the co-pilot is there to watch and call the intended path, as well as to watch for other vehicles, pedestrians, or objects on the road.

Image credits: Kirsten korosec

“We don’t see them just as testers; they give us a ton of great tips and advice not only on the technology and how they feel about it, but also on the rules of the road ”Lia Theodosiou-Pisanelli, Aurora vice president of partners and programs, said during a safety briefing before getting into the truck. “For example a truck driver wouldn’t do that, you take a wide turn, this is how you do it, this is how you operate, this is what other drivers go for. wait. They also have a very good understanding of the customer’s expectations. “

All operators, who are Aurora employees and not contract workers, go through weeks of training on vehicle controls, defensive driving and subject them to scenarios on a closed track. Twelve “pilots” completed the training, which lasts between six and eight weeks, and are now in trucks. Others are in preparation.

Both test trips began with the truck driving autonomously from the terminal to a service road, where it then took a slip road onto Interstate 45. The truck traveled approximately 45 kilometers before exiting, turn left to pass under the highway. After a stop sign, the truck took another left to re-enter the freeway and return to the terminal. The round trip was approximately 28 miles.

Image credits: Kirsten korosec

While it is difficult to provide an in-depth assessment of AV technology in these type of demonstrations, it does provide insight into the system and, more importantly, the type of “engine” that a company is trying to develop.

In Aurora’s case, the company is taking a cautious approach. The truck will not exceed 65 miles per hour on the highway, even when the posted speed limit is 75 mph. The truck also stays in the far right lane, except to make room for a molten vehicle or to overtake the slower. It also always moves to the other lane if a vehicle is stopped on the shoulder, according to state law.

Aurora has also instructed its security operators to “disengage,” meaning manual control, in active construction areas where workers are present, in cases where emergency vehicles are present. ‘approach with the lights on, and in the midst of all the “crazy actors”, as Theodosiou-Pisanelli describes it. this.

“Every time we have a disengagement, it’s an experience that we learn from,” she said. “We tell them to be proactive about disengaging; it doesn’t affect our ability to learn from that experience, because we can run it through the simulator and see what the system would have done.”

The company claims it has already driven more than 4.5 million kilometers on the road, as well as billions of kilometers in its virtual test suite.

During my drive, the security operator took control once on a section along the main road as a van sitting in a driveway moved forward and appeared to be about to turn in front of the semi-trailer. For the remainder of the two trips, the truck operated autonomously and smoothly, with slightly more aggressive braking when a slower vehicle moved in front of it.

What they showed

Under a temporary structure fitted with stylish lighting, carpet, seating and decor reminiscent of a Tesla reveal event, the company laid out its strategy and presented prototypes and educational explanations of its technology, including its lidar and simulation. The objective was to indicate what is behind its deployment plan an autonomous trucking company by the end of 2023 and carpooling by the end of 2024.

The company has showcased two different vehicle prototypes that it says will ultimately provide vehicles that will move goods and people autonomously around the world. They showed the Volvo VNL truck, a design prototype of Volvo’s first autonomous truck, intended for commercial production. Road tests of the VNL will begin in 2022.

Aurora also showcased its AV-ready Toyota Sienna prototype which is intended for mass production. Aurora integrates its AV system into the vehicle and will have a test fleet of a dozen vehicles for testing and validation in Pittsburgh, the San Francisco Bay Area and Texas, the company said.

The road ahead

Aurora was not ready to talk about future partners. But strategically speaking, Anderson noted that the market is huge, that “there are a lot of players, and we talk to a lot of them.”

The pair weighed in on telecare technology, that is, when humans in an offsite location are monitoring and can then send path planning instructions to the autonomous vehicle if needed, which they have not discussed in detail before.

“From day one, we thought helpline would be part of the technology,” said Urmson.

“We’ve modeled with pretty fine granularity what’s going on in and around terminals,” Anderson said of his progress to date, noting that every milestone has been mapped out. What we don’t quite have yet is how often we’ll need a helpline or roadside assistance event when we don’t have a driver in the truck.

Urmson and Anderson have confirmed that the company is testing telecare technology on a closed runway and public roads and will work with its partners to determine the best approach for business operations.