By Sterling Anderson
Today we're excited to share that we've entered into a global strategic partnership with PACCAR in preparation for the delivery of the Aurora Driver’s first application in trucking. This partnership combines PACCAR’s considerable expertise in heavy-duty truck development, manufacturing, and sales with our deep understanding of autonomous vehicle technology to bring a safe, efficient self-driving product to market quickly and deploy it broadly.
We’ve been laying the groundwork for this product and this partnership for some time. Many of our test vehicles today are built on PACCAR’s trucks. Our industry-leading sensor suite is unique in its ability to safely operate them, and our vehicle-agnostic Driver was developed to quickly and seamlessly adapt to them. Finally, the flexible ecosystem we’re developing will allow shippers and carriers to seamlessly integrate these trucks into their existing operations.
This partnership builds on that foundation in two key ways—both of which are a first for both PACCAR and Aurora in the trucking space:
Our next-generation trucks, which are being tested in Texas, are Peterbilts and outfitted with our FirstLight Lidar sensor suite.
The industry’s definition of “leading” will change this year. While Aurora as a company has not been a part of this industry as long as others, our people have. And when experienced people get a fresh start with next-generation technology, it can be difficult to match their speed. Combine that speed with strong partnerships built on mutual respect and a common vision, and you’re in business. It's an exciting time for Aurora, for PACCAR, and for the industry, and we look forward to sharing the continued progress we'll make together as we deliver the benefits of self-driving technology safely, quickly, and broadly.
The momentum continues at Aurora and we’re hiring in all disciplines to help us solve one of the biggest challenges of our generation. Check out our careers page to see open positions and learn more about what it’s like to work at Aurora.
There are some undeniable truths in life: death, taxes, and the fact that you can’t pursue self-driving vehicles if you don’t have lidar that has long-range sensing capabilities and a cost-effective way to scale.
Today, Aurora is excited to become part of that vision and announce our latest milestone: a long-term, global, and strategic collaboration with Toyota and Denso, one of the largest global manufacturers and tier-one automotive suppliers, respectively, to build and globally deploy self-driving cars at scale.
Although 2020 was challenging and tumultuous from a global perspective, I am proud of how our team pulled together to have our most impressive year yet.