Torc Robotics, a Daimler Truck AG subsidiary that develops autonomous vehicle technology, is creating a pilot program to expand its reach into the long-haul refrigerated freight market alongside carrier C.R. England.
Torc and C.R. England (No. 34 on the FleetOwner 500 For-Hire) will implement a pilot program leveraging C.R. England’s temperature-controlled loads and Torc’s fleet of Level 4 autonomous test trucks for long-haul applications for Torc to support carriers in the refrigerated freight market. Planning for the pilot will begin mid-2023, with on-road tests soon after, according to a Torc press release.
“Torc is thrilled to be partnering with C.R. England to better improve long-haul trucking safety for one of the premium service providers and largest refrigerated carriers in the nation,” said Torc Robotics CEO Peter Vaughan Schmidt. “The data derived from the pilot will contribute to our safety and validation efforts and use cases for autonomous trucking.”
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C.R. England CEO Chad England said, “C.R. England is excited to announce our partnership with Torc for pilot activities on Level 4 autonomous test trucks. We believe this innovation will eventually provide the ability to expand our network safely, with high levels of service to our customers, all while enhancing the quality of existing driver jobs. Specifically, by adding autonomous lanes to our network, we can expand our customer offerings and create more structured jobs for drivers at both ends of autonomous runs. Torc’s deep integration with Daimler Truck AG makes our two organizations a perfect fit for piloting this new technology.”
The pilot program with C.R. England is Torc’s second announced carrier pilot. This news comes on the heels of Torc’s recently announced acquisition of Algolux for its expertise in computer vision and machine learning.
