A self-driving truck has just completed an autonomous coast-to-coast journey across the US
Embark successfully tested its self-driving truck on a 2,400 mile route between Florida and California.
A self-driving truck has completed a coast-to-coast journey across the US, a feat its developers called the first of its kind.
Embark has been testing self-driving trucks since last year – predominantly on a route between Los Angeles and Texas – where the company’s technology controls the vehicle when on the Interstate, but with a driver taking over on smaller roads.
Now, in a move to emphasise the capability of its technology, Embark’s truck has completed a journey between Jacksonville in Florida and Los Angeles – a 2,400 mile route that was completed over five days.
As a result, rest breaks were a legal requirement – which is why the journey took five days. Embark says in the future a truly autonomous truck – without a driver – could complete the journey in two days by operating around the clock.
For the coast-to-coast journey, Embark’s truck was empty but the company has already been transporting real cargo for refrigerator firm Frigidaire.
Driverless car technology is currently being developed by a host of companies globally – including Google’s Waymo, who are testing on roads in the US. But the likes of Uber, Ford and several other car giants are also exploring the technology in some form.
