Volvo Autonomous Solutions (V.A.S.) is expanding its footprint in North America with the establishment of an office in in Fort Worth, Texas, that is dedicated to setting up the company’s first autonomous freight corridors, which will run from Dallas-Fort Worth to El Paso and from Dallas to Houston.
To prepare for commercial launch, V.A.S. has also started to haul loads with trucks using drivers for key customers like DHL and Uber Freight to test aspects of the transport solution and establish frameworks and procedures for safe and reliable operations.
“At Volvo Autonomous Solutions, we believe the path to autonomy at scale is through reducing the friction and complications around ownership and operations for customers,” says Nils Jaeger, president of Volvo Autonomous Solutions. “This is why we have taken the decision to be the single interface to our customers and take full ownership of the elements required for commercial autonomous transport. With the opening of our office in Texas and start of operational activities, we are building the foundations for a transport solution that will change the way we move goods on highways.”
The solutions offered by V.A.S. include hardware, software and services required to run autonomous transport operations. On highways, the solution is operated based on a hub-to-hub model, where autonomous trucks take on the highway portion of the driving, operating all hours of the day and night between transfer hubs while human drivers complete local operations.
