Uber Self-driving Truck Just Made History

A 120-mile Colorado beer delivery last Thursday became the first demonstration of technology Uber got when it bought autonomous trucking startup Otto for about $680 million in August.

The delivery of about 45,000 cans of Budweiser beer was announced on Tuesday by Uber and Anheuser-Busch.

The companies said a human driver accompanied the beer delivery, but his driving services were only used to get on and off the highway.

The truck traveled the I-25 highway from Anheuser-Busch’s Loveland brewery, driving an average speed of 55 miles per hour, through Denver to its Colorado Springs destination. The driver rode most of the way in the back of the truck, away from the controls.

“This shipment is the next step towards our vision for a safe and productive future across our highways,” Otto said in a blog.”When you’ll see a truck driving down the road with nobody in the front seat, you’ll know that it’s highly unlikely to get into a collision, drive aggressively, or waste a single drop of fuel.”

Driverless trucks and delivery vehicles are expected to be among the first uses of autonomous technology being developed in Silicon Valley and Detroit. That’s because they will be moving along well-mapped and more predictable routes than the distractions and unpredictability of navigating city streets.

Mountain View-based Peloton Technology is another company working on autonomous trucking technology. Backed by Intel Capital, Volvo and Lockheed Martin, it is testing driver-assisted “platooning” in which trucks are able to travel in close formation to reduce drag and save on fuel.

Otto was co-founded by Google self-driving car project veterans Anthony Levandowski and Lior Ron.

Budweiser paid the market rate of $470 for the historic beer run, which received the blessing of the Colorado Department of Transportation.

“Colorado will continue to focus on working with Otto and others on how to safely deploy this technology on our roads,” said Shailen Bhatt, Colorado Department of Transportation executive director, in a statement.

Source: Silicon Valley Business Journal, Cromwell Schubarth
Photo: A self-driving truck from Otto, the startup Uber bought in August, made a historic 120-mile beer run in Colorado last week. (Courtesy photo)