Uber has announced that its self-driving trucks have been operating in the state of Arizona over the last few months, per New York Times. The company has two main transfer hubs in Sanders and Topock. Other than that, Uber is being pretty quiet about the self-driving operation.
The company hasn’t shared how many trucks are in operation right now on the road, how many miles the trucks have driven, what they’re shipping or how often drivers are taking control of the trucks for the autonomous systems. The company has only said that the trucks have successfully completed thousands of rides so far.
Take a look at the video above. It will give you Uber’s basic ideas. For example, the idea here is that a regular semi trick will pick up delivery load from a shipper and drive it to a transfer location. From there, one of Uber’s self-driving tricks, and a safety driver, will start transporting it over the longest leg of the trip. As the truck nears the delivery destination, it will again head to a transfer place where a conventional truck and driver will pick up the trailer and take it to its final destination. Shipment details are being handled by Uber Freight, the app that the company launched last May to help connect shippers and truck drivers.
Before embarking on this journey, Uber completely its first delivery with a self-driving trick back in 2116, when one of the semis transported 2,000 cases of Budweiser from Fort Collins, Colorado to Colorado Springs.
