Honeybees. Ants. 18-wheelers. What do they have in common?

.

The first two operate as data-sharing collectives a la a hive mind to improve efficiency and achieve their goals, and now 18-wheelers are joining their ranks. Thanks to the advent of game-changing autonomous technology enabling hive-like communications, companies can create a network of vehicles that transform how they move freight across the United States.

.

A “queen bee” in this effort is TuSimple, an autonomous trucking enterprise operating the world’s first autonomous freight network. With an ecosystem of industry leading partners including DHL, Goodyear, Penske, McLane, and the US Postal Service, coupled with a laser-focus on trucking, the use of camera-driven perception systems and real-world data, TuSimple is leading the way towards a self-driving infrastructure that enables greater efficiencies and lower operational costs for transporters.

.

Case in point: Since 2019, TuSimple has driven 160,000 autonomous miles for UPS' North America Air Freight division and achieved a 13% fuel savings at highway speeds.

.

In this episode of SAE Tomorrow Today, Chuck Price, Chief Product Officer of TuSimple, spoke about what the company has learned after collecting 5.5 million miles of on-road data and how it’s informing the company’s approach to safety, road conditions and AI system training.

.

We’d love to hear from you. Share your comments, questions and ideas for future topics and guests to [email protected]. Don’t forget to take a moment to follow SAE Tomorrow Today (and give us a review) on your preferred podcasting platform.

.

Follow SAE on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

Follow host Grayson Brulte on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.