Copyright FreightWaves
Autonomous truck technology maker Waabi and Volvo Autonomous Solutions recently announced the successful integration of the Waabi Driver with the Volvo VNL Autonomous. The milestone marks a new chapter in the strategic partnership, which was announced earlier in February. With the integration complete, both companies are now looking toward the next steps—broader commercial deployment. “The future of autonomous trucking hinges on three critical areas: autonomous technology that is safe, scalable, and can deliver on customer needs; hardware that is purpose-built for autonomous operations from the ground up; and a commercial deployment model that solves problems in the supply chain without added friction,” said Raquel Urtasun, founder and CEO of Waabi, in the release. For Volvo, the addition of the Waabi virtual driver will augment its custom-built Volvo VNL autonomous truck, which is designed with redundant systems to handle fully autonomous operations. These redundant systems include braking, steering, and communication, among others. Earlier this year, Urtasun spoke with FreightWaves about the Volvo partnership and noted that the path forward for autonomous trucking technology companies relies on vertical integration and a willing OEM partner.
