Creepy-looking or not, the first-ever cab-less autonomous electric truck has been approved for US public roads.
Back in 2017, Einride AB, a freight technology company headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, debuted its cabless autonomous electric T-pod truck. Two years later, it ran the roads of Sweden.
Einride has now gained access to roll on US public roads, after gaining approval from the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), an agency of the Department of Transportation.
Now named the Pod, the truck is a first for US roads—cab-less is the key.
The US certainly has seen other autonomous trucks being tested on its roadways, but they always had a safety driver in the cab who was ready to grab the wheel should any issues arise, or it may have been accompanied by a mobile support team.
But the Einride Pod truck, it’s cab-less, which means no fail-safe driver on board.
“This is a type of vehicle that has never before been seen on U.S. roads and marks a major milestone as a turning point for the future of the freight industry,” said Robert Falck, Chief Executive Officer and founder of Einride. “We know the autonomous and electric technology of our pod will not only revolutionize transportation but also create thousands of jobs and help America stay competitive.”
The Pod uses an onboard sensor suite that includes a plethora of cameras, radars, and LiDARs, which will be monitored by a human being from a remote location.
Einride said that having the human element is “critical in safely scaling autonomous vehicles by keeping humans in the loop and creating jobs to fulfill a future way of shipping."
Via Einride’s electric and autonomous fleets, charging and connectivity networks, and operating system, Saga, the company provides cutting-edge products, and creates jobs for a rebuilt shipping industry.
Founded in 2016, Einride became the first company to deploy an autonomous, electric freight vehicle on a public road in 2019.
Pilot testing for the Pod will begin in Q3 of 2022, where it will become part of the existing GE Appliances—a Haier company—manufacturing mobile fleet, to ship goods in its trailer between company warehouses while running on public roads in mixed traffic.
Explained Bill Good, GE Appliances Vice President of Supply Chain: "We are creating a more sustainable and efficient supply chain through increased electrification and automation in our manufacturing and distribution operations.”
Einride was the first to have a fleet of operational autonomous and electric vehicles on U.S. soil in partnership with GE Appliances in 2021.
“We’ve appreciated working with Einride in demonstrating how their Pod technology can help us accelerate achievement of that goal,” summed up Good.
For more information on Einride, visit www.einride.tech.