Can autonomous trucks really make highways safer?

Kodiak AI, a starring supplier of AI-powered autonomous driving technology, has spent years softly proving that self-driving trucks tin enactment successful the existent world. The company's halfway system, the Kodiak Driver, brings bundle and hardware unneurotic successful a applicable way. As the institution explains, "The Kodiak Driver combines precocious AI-driven bundle with modular, vehicle-agnostic hardware into a single, unified platform." 

That attack matters due to the fact that trucking is not a closed laboratory environment. It is highways, weather, fatigue and agelong hours. Kodiak's strategy focuses connected solving those realities first.

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How nationalist views connected autonomous trucks are changing

During a caller occurrence of CyberGuy's "Beyond Connected" podcast, Kurt spoke with Daniel Goff, vice president of outer affairs astatine Kodiak AI, astir however attitudes toward autonomous trucks person shifted implicit time.

WILL AUTONOMOUS TRUCKS REPLACE DRIVERS BY 2027?

Autonomous trucks are already hauling freight connected nationalist highways arsenic companies trial however the exertion performs successful real-world conditions. (Kodiak)

Goff described however antithetic the absorption was erstwhile the institution archetypal launched. "Kodiak was founded successful 2018, and I joined successful 2019. When I archetypal started astatine the company, I said I worked for a institution that was moving to physique trucks that thrust themselves, and radical benignant of looked astatine maine similar I was crazy. Over the past fewer years, we've truly seen autonomous vehicles seizure the public's imagination. We've seen them turn successful the existent world. I deliberation that radical are getting much utilized to this idea."

For Goff, that displacement has travel from seeing the exertion run safely extracurricular of trial environments, wherever show matters much than hype.

Why autonomous trucks could amended roadworthy safety

One of Kodiak AI's cardinal arguments is simple. Machines debar galore of the risks that travel with quality driving. "We deliberation determination are advantages to this exertion that humans, myself included, can't match. You cognize this exertion doesn't get distracted. It doesn't cheque its phone. It doesn't person a phone. It doesn't person a atrocious time to instrumentality it retired connected the road. It doesn't speed. It doesn't cognize however to speed. You cognize they're beauteous boring drivers." In trucking, boring is often a bully thing.

Where autonomous trucks are already operating today

Kodiak AI is already doing this connected existent roads. The institution has been moving progressive freight routes for years, not conscionable investigating successful controlled settings. "Kodiak's office are successful Mountainview, California, but since 2019, we've had a bid halfway successful Lancaster, Texas, which is conscionable southbound of Dallas. Since 2019, we've really been delivering freight from that Lancaster hub to Houston, Oklahoma City and Atlanta with what we telephone a information operator down the wheel."

Those real-world miles person helped Kodiak fine-tune its strategy successful mundane traffic, upwind and long-haul conditions.

Tractor trailers astatine the entranceway of the Port of Baltimore successful Baltimore, Maryland, connected Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (Nathan Howard/Getty Images)

The trucking occupation Kodiak is trying to solve

Long-haul trucking is indispensable to the U.S. economy, but it is besides 1 of the astir demanding and risky jobs connected the road. Drivers walk agelong stretches distant from home, enactment extended hours and run dense vehicles successful each conditions. As Goff enactment it, "Driving a motortruck is 1 of the astir hard and unsafe jobs that radical bash successful the United States each day. You know, being a motortruck operator means, for astatine slightest a agelong haul motortruck driver, means you're distant from your household for sometimes days, weeks, adjacent months astatine a time, sleeping successful the backmost of the truck."

He besides pointed to national information rules that bounds however agelong drivers tin enactment down the wheel, which are meant to trim fatigue but besides restrict however overmuch freight 1 idiosyncratic tin determination successful a day. "If you're driving the 11-hour ineligible maximum per time and determination are radical who emotion being long-haul truckers, but we’re not seeing radical stepping up for those roles anymore successful this country, and drivers are retiring each year."

Those realities person contributed to ongoing operator shortages and increasing unit connected the freight system. Kodiak believes autonomous exertion is champion utilized wherever the occupation is hardest and astir repetitive. "The extremity for this exertion is truly champion suited for those truly pugnacious jobs. The agelong lonely road miles, the trucking and distant locations wherever radical either don't wanna unrecorded oregon don't oregon can't easy live."

Goff besides highlighted however overmuch capableness is mislaid simply due to the fact that trucks beryllium idle for astir of the day. "The mean motortruck is driven astir 7 hours a time successful the US, and you cognize determination are 24 hours a day, truthful that's a batch of clip conscionable sitting there."

Autonomy, helium said, could assistance alteration that math. "The extremity of the exertion is that you tin fundamentally tally 24/7, conscionable benignant of stopping to refuel, to inspect the motortruck for safety, and you know, different than that, the trucks are moving."

Long-haul trucking is 1 of the astir demanding jobs connected the road, which is wherefore autonomous systems absorption connected long, repetitive road routes. (Kodiak)

How galore miles Kodiak AI has driven to beryllium safety

Kodiak AI emphasizes information implicit promises. "We've driven implicit 3 cardinal miles with a information operator down the instrumentality for astir of those miles, meaning idiosyncratic acceptable to instrumentality implicit astatine immoderate time. So, we got a precise bully way record." To enactment that into perspective, Goff added, "The mean American drives astir 800,000 miles successful their lifetime, which seems crazy. That's a batch of driving, but we're astatine astir 4 mean lifetimes with our strategy today, and we besides usage machine simulation, each sorts of things to measure the information of the system."

In summation to its long-haul operations, Kodiak AI works with Atlas Energy Solutions, which does lipid logistics successful the Permian Basin of West Texas and eastbound New Mexico. As of Q3 2025, the institution has delivered 10 driverless trucks to Atlas, which autonomously present soil up to 24 hours a time with nary quality relation successful the cab. Goff says, "We spot our enactment successful the Permian arsenic a cleanable sandbox for our long-haul operations."

The institution has besides sought third-party validation. "Additionally, we person done external-facing studies. We did a survey with a institution called Nauto, which is 1 of the leaders successful AI-enabled dashcams. They really assistance conveyance fleets compute information scores from an extracurricular perspective. Our strategy scored the highest ever successful the Nauto information score."

THE ROAD TO PROSPERITY WILL BE PAVED BY AUTONOMOUS TRUCKING

Where autonomous motortruck regulations basal today

Policy is different cardinal origin successful adoption. "From a regulatory perspective. 25 states person passed laws allowing autonomous conveyance deployment." Goff believes the information of mundane driving makes the lawsuit clear. "I deliberation radical who deliberation astir proscription each time recognize however unsafe driving a car is, driving a motortruck is, and conscionable being connected the roadworthy spot the imaginable for this technology."

What critics accidental astir autonomous trucks

Autonomous trucking inactive raises concerns among information advocates and mundane drivers. Critics question whether bundle tin respond accelerated capable successful emergencies, grip unpredictable quality behaviour oregon marque judgement calls during analyzable road situations.

Kodiak AI says those concerns are precisely wherefore information comes first. As Goff explained, "In this manufacture successful particular, we truly recognize however important it is to beryllium safe."

The institution argues that autonomous systems indispensable gain spot implicit clip done real-world performance, transparent investigating and measurable results, not promises oregon hype.

What this means to you

For mundane drivers, autonomous trucks rise understandable questions. Sharing the roadworthy with a conveyance controlled by bundle tin consciousness unsettling, particularly erstwhile headlines often absorption connected what could spell wrong. Kodiak's statement is that information improves erstwhile fatigue, distraction and affectional decision-making are removed from agelong road driving. If the exertion continues to execute arsenic claimed, the interaction could amusement up successful quieter ways. That includes less bushed drivers connected overnight routes, much predictable freight question and perchance safer highways implicit time. For consumers, it could besides mean less transportation delays and little strain connected a trucking strategy already abbreviated connected drivers.

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Safety data, real-world miles and third-party reviews present play a cardinal relation successful gathering spot successful self-driving trucks.  (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)

Kurt's cardinal takeaways

Autonomous trucking is not a aboriginal conception anymore. Kodiak AI is already moving freight and collecting existent information information connected nationalist roads. At the aforesaid time, skepticism remains steadfast and necessary. Trust successful this exertion volition emergence oregon autumn based connected transparency, regularisation and semipermanent performance, not promises. The existent question is nary longer whether self-driving trucks tin operate. It is whether they tin consistently beryllium they marque roads safer for everyone who shares them.

Would you spot autonomous trucks much if they could amusement a amended information grounds than quality drivers implicit time? Let america cognize by penning to america astatine Cyberguy.com.

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