TuSimple announced it is expanding its presence in Arizona and planned to add 500 new jobs in Tucson.
The Chinese-based company has been testing its Level 4 autonomous truck in Arizona for more than a year, and recently began generating revenue hauling freight for commercial carriers in the state. It also is testing the technology in China.
TuSimple said the jobs will be across a variety of fields including engineering and autonomous truck driving. It plans to expand its autonomous fleet to 200 trucks in the United States by 2019, which will bring its worldwide fleet to 500 trucks.
Already this year the company expanded its testing facilities to 50,000 square feet from 6,800 square feet.
“Arizona has actively supported the research and development of autonomous vehicles, and we are pleased to be expanding our footprint in the state,” said Xiaodi Hou, co-founder of TuSimple.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey said the expansion is a sign the state is a place “where innovators do what they do best: innovate.”
TuSimple said its camera-centric system has a vision range of 1,000 meters and can “see” 360 degrees, enabling the vehicle to locate itself within four inches of the road at all times.
