Pittsburgh-based Aurora Innovation, Inc. announced recently its Aurora Horizon, an autonomous trucking subscription, had reached a critical milestone, and is closer than ever to the commercial launch of the product.
In the first quarter of 2023, the company introduced the final driving capabilities needed to commercially haul freight without vehicle operators between Dallas and Houston by the end of 2024. The milestone for Aurora Driver Beta 6.0. The release of Beta 6.0 means the company is on time or ahead of schedule in reaching milestones. Over the last year and a half, the company said, it has released dozens of capabilities that increase the Aurora Driver’s autonomous performance, safety, and reliability.
“From day one, we made foundational technology investments and strategic decisions that have helped us reach this pivotal moment,” said Chris Urmson, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Aurora. “We are now positioned to close our Safety Case for launch, the final step to achieving Aurora Driver Ready later this year. As we mature operations in advance of the launch of Aurora Horizon, our customers will continue to experience the value autonomy can bring to their businesses.”
The latest release includes refined capabilities that identify and respond to collisions with other vehicles and property and detect and respond to “out of design domain” scenarios.
The company said it is now entering its final phase of refinement and validation prior to launch and will be fine-tuning its capabilities. The company expects to complete the necessary validation to close the Aurora Driver Safety Case for driverless operations by the end of 2023.