In autonomous and self-driving vehicle news are Torc, Pony.ai, TIER IV, NVIDIA & Uber.
Torc Opens AV-Hub in Dallas-Fort Worth
Torc, a subsidiary of Daimler Truck AG, has announced a new autonomous truck hub in AllianceTexas, located in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The 17-acre facility, featuring 22,000 square feet of office space, will support Torc’s autonomous testing, customer freight pilots, and commercialization efforts set for 2027. Positioned near the vital freight corridor of Interstate 35 between Dallas and Laredo, Texas, the hub offers strategic access to one of the busiest trade routes in the U.S., handling over 15,000 truck crossings daily.
Key features of the hub include a customer experience center, fleet management control centers, and proximity to a major economic port. Torc plans to begin operations early in 2025 and fully build out the facility by mid-year to meet autonomous vehicle operation standards.
CEO Peter Vaughan Schmidt emphasized the hub’s importance in expanding operational capabilities and advancing the adoption of autonomous trucking technology. This milestone follows successful validation tests of Torc’s driverless trucks on multi-lane highways. Torc is also expanding its workforce in Ann Arbor, Michigan, adding over 100 positions to support its growth.
For more information, visit www.torc.ai.
Pony.ai @Hong Kong International Airport
Pony.ai, a global leader in autonomous vehicle technology, announced plans to provide driverless transportation services at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA), one of the world’s busiest airports. Initially, the service will shuttle airport employees, with future plans to expand its robotaxi services into urban Hong Kong.
Key Highlights:
- New Milestone:
- Deployment of Pony.ai’s sixth-generation, seven-seat robotaxi at HKIA.
- Marks Pony.ai’s first entry into the Hong Kong market, offering opportunities to test autonomous vehicles in left-side driving, dense traffic, and complex road conditions.
- Existing Airport Operations:
- Pony.ai currently operates robotaxi services at Beijing Daxing International Airport and tests autonomous vehicles near Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport.
- Expansion Across Greater Bay Area:
- Pony.ai was recently certified to operate cross-regional autonomous robotaxi services across the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, including seamless connectivity between airports and high-speed rail stations.
- Global Presence and Achievements:
- Among the first in China to receive licenses for fully driverless services in all Tier-1 cities (Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenzhen).
- Offering public, fare-charging robotaxi services without safety drivers in Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen.
- Expanded presence in Europe, East Asia, and the Middle East.
- Commercial Milestones:
- Pony.ai received over 15 daily robotaxi orders per vehicle on average in the first half of 2024, signaling significant progress toward large-scale commercialization of Level 4 autonomy.
With its advanced technology and growing reach, Pony.ai is reshaping urban transportation, providing safe, efficient, and eco-friendly mobility solutions that are becoming integral to daily life.
WeRide Robobus Autonomous Shuttles @ Zurich Airport
WeRide Inc. (NASDAQ: WRD) has partnered with Flughafen Zürich AG and Swiss Transit Lab (STL) to deploy its Robobus autonomous shuttle service at Zurich Airport, marking the first commercial autonomous bus shuttle project at a European airport. Starting in early 2025, the nine-passenger Robobus will connect employee areas along a dedicated route, with initial operations including a safety driver and plans for remote monitoring in the future.
This milestone follows WeRide’s success at the 2024 French Open, where Robobus provided shuttle services in collaboration with Renault Group. Zurich Airport’s challenging environment highlights WeRide’s advanced autonomous driving technology, which has been tested extensively in over 30 cities across seven countries.
WeRide’s Robotaxi also completed route mapping at Zurich Airport, showcasing potential expansion opportunities in Switzerland. The deployment underscores WeRide’s commitment to reliable, low-carbon autonomous mobility solutions in Europe.
TIER IV Permitted Level 4 in Shiojiri
TIER IV, a leader in open-source autonomous driving software, has obtained a permit for Level 4 autonomous driving operations in Shiojiri, Nagano Prefecture, in collaboration with local government and service operators.
Key milestones:
- Level 4 Certification: Achieved in October 2024 under the Road Transport Vehicle Act, followed by a permit under the Road Traffic Act, enabling full autonomous control under predefined conditions.
- Public Road Deployment: Autonomous Minibus will operate between Shiojiri Station and Shiojiri City Hall, sharing roads with pedestrians and general traffic.
- Addressing Transportation Challenges: TIER IV aims to mitigate issues like driver shortages by advancing autonomous mobility services.
This achievement underscores TIER IV’s commitment to revolutionizing regional transportation and accelerating the adoption of autonomous driving technology.
Uber and NVIDIA Partner to Accelerate AI-Powered Autonomous Driving
Uber Technologies and NVIDIA have announced a collaboration to advance AI-driven autonomous vehicle (AV) technology. The partnership will leverage Uber’s extensive trip data alongside NVIDIA’s cutting-edge platforms, Cosmos™ and DGX™ Cloud, to enhance AI model development for autonomous systems.
Key highlights:
- NVIDIA Cosmos: A platform tailored for physical AI systems, such as robots and AVs, featuring generative world foundation models and advanced data processing pipelines. It democratizes access to AI development tools by reducing costs and resource barriers.
- NVIDIA DGX Cloud: A managed AI platform offering high performance, flexibility, and seamless multi-cloud integration to streamline AI model development.
- Uber’s extensive trip data will serve as a rich resource to train and refine AI models, supporting faster and safer AV development.
“Generative AI will power the future of mobility,” said Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, expressing confidence in the partnership’s ability to accelerate scalable AV solutions. NVIDIA’s Norm Marks highlighted Uber as a mobility leader embracing these platforms to drive innovation in the AV ecosystem.
Further updates on the collaboration are expected later this year.