TuSimple, a startup leading the research and development of autonomous trucking technology, showcased its Level 4 autonomous truck at CES 2018 in Las Vegas. This was the company’s debut in the United States of its latest L4 trucks, which are slated to hit the roads for testing in Arizona this year. TuSimple will also discuss its new collaboration with AI computing leader, NVIDIA.
TuSimple is on track for commercial deployment in the next few years, and one important aspect of the company’s strategy is extensive testing. In 2018, TuSimple’s trucks will take to the highways with a fleet in the United States and a fleet in China, and it will open its doors to its latest research and testing facility in Tucson, Arizona. TuSimple’s well-refined L4 autonomous truck prototype is developed in conjunction with the OEM, and, this year, TuSimple will scale its efforts to commercialize self-driving trucks in the United States by deploying additional Peterbilts.
In August 2017, TuSimple secured $23 million in a Series B funding round, and the company raised an additional $55 million of Series C funding in November. Also in 2017, TuSimple welcomed Chuck Price, an expert in development and management of innovative technologies, previously at Peloton Technology, as the company’s new Vice President of Product to establish a production engineering team and lead operations in Tucson.
“This year, we reached several crucial milestones in our quest to launch commercially viable autonomous trucking services,” said Mo Chen, CEO of TuSimple. “CES is the perfect platform for spotlighting our latest L4 trucks, unveiling new collaborations with NVIDIA and Peterbilt and introducing our executive team.”
TuSimple’s full stack solution is built on the NVIDIA DRIVE computing platform, and is undergoing extensive testing in the United States and China to ensure its safety. The company’s perception and computer vision technology has reliable 200-meter detection, tracking, and distance estimation using multiple cameras. In addition, the visual positioning and image multi-sensor fusion technology achieves decimeter-level localization in various conditions, even in tunnels. The stack also integrates highly automated HD mapping with precise lane-level information. Finally, to perfect its motion planning platform, TuSimple has collected a massive amount of human driver behavior data, developing an in-depth understanding of the behavior of other drivers and vehicles on the road. TuSimple’s full stack technology addresses every need of a safe and efficient autonomous truck.
“All forms of transportation are being transformed by AI, and TuSimple is helping pave the way to a safer and more efficient trucking system,” said Rishi Dhall, Senior Director of Business Development, NVIDIA.
