An autonomous heavy-duty truck from Kodiak Robotics will transport IKEA goods seven days a week between the retailer’s Baytown distribution centre and its Frisco store
An autonomous truck of Kodiak Robotics is transporting IKEA products seven days a week in Texas. (Credit: PR Newswire/Kodiak Robotics)
US-based self-driving trucking company Kodiak Robotics has commenced a pilot programme for autonomous freight delivery in Texas with IKEA’s supply chain operations.
As part of the collaboration between the two firms, an autonomous heavy-duty truck from Kodiak Robotics will transport IKEA’s goods seven days a week between the Baytown distribution centre of the retailer and its store in Frisco.
Kodiak Robotics founder and CEO Don Burnette said: “IKEA and Kodiak share a commitment to putting safety first. Together we can enhance safety, improve working conditions for drivers, and create a more sustainable freight transportation system.
“Adopting autonomous trucking technology can improve drivers’ quality of life by focusing on the local driving jobs most prefer to do. We look forward to working with the IKEA carrier partners to bring these benefits to the IKEA supply chain.”
The autonomous truck used in the programme has a professional safety truck driver behind the wheel. Every morning, the driver picks up a loaded trailer at the Baytown distribution center and supervises the driverless delivery to the Frisco store by late afternoon, said Kodiak Robotics.
The pilot programme aims to get a better understanding of how the autonomous driving technology of Kodiak Robotics contributes to the improved working conditions for truck drivers over longer distances and increased road safety.
IKEA supply chain operations category area transport manager Dariusz Mroczek said: “We are proud to be working with Kodiak to achieve our ambitious goals of being at the forefront of innovation and building capabilities for future transportation.
“Kodiak’s technology will contribute towards our objective to put the driver in focus in the transition towards automated transportation and towards our road safety agenda.”
Founded in 2018, Kodiak Robotics integrates sensors into a streamlined sensor-pod structure, which optimise for perception, scalability, and maintainability to deliver freight daily for its customers along four routes in Oklahoma and Texas.