The truck covered more than 80 percent of the 951-mile journey alone.
Self-driving cars are still years away from becoming mainstream reality. Although semi-autonomous driving systems have their merits, there is still much to be done before autonomous vehicles can become mainstream. The tech is poised to take off in one industry: trucking. TuSimple has been developing self-driving tech to drive semi-trucks. Last month, the company successfully hauled watermelons across the country with very little human input.
The fruit was transported from Nogales, Mexico-Arizona border to Oklahoma City in just 14 hours and 6 mins. TuSimple claims that this is 42 percent faster than a human driver, who would have had to stop after 11 hours to rest for safety regulations. TuSimple was able to deliver the goods in a fraction of the time it would have taken a human-piloted truck.
Over 80 percent of the journey was completed by the truck on its own. A human driver drove the truck 200 miles from Oklahoma City to Dallas, and then again to Tucson. The faster delivery time could prove to be a huge benefit to the produce. It arrived at its destination on the same day that it left Nogales, rather than waiting for it to arrive by a human. This would result in fresher fruits for consumers and less waste from growers and grocers.
This technology will improve efficiency but it will also likely impact jobs. However, such a transformation is still many years away. For now, self-driving trucks require humans to be safety and last-mile drivers. However, the company plans to start operating trucks without a safety driver in 2025. According to SingularityHub.com, TuSimple currently operates seven routes between Phoenix and Tucson, El Paso and Dallas. The company plans to expand its operations to Houston and San Antonio.