Ikea Partners With Kodiak Robotics to Bring Self-Driving Technology to Delivery Trucks

Swedish home furniture firm Ikea wants to bring driverless truck deliveries to Texas soon. The company has partnered with Kodiak Robotics which excels in self-driving shipping service.

Ikea is Testing Driverless Delivery Trucks

Ikea has been running some tests on Kodiak's driverless truck since August. It has been operating autonomous delivery vehicles from its Houston warehouse to a Dallas retail store daily, per Engadget.

The traditional delivery truck has a driver who's maneuvering the vehicle until it reaches its location. However, Kodiak aims to incorporate self-driving technology into the delivery truck which could allow it to travel for 300 miles in just a single trip.

With this, Ikea says that the collaboration will aim to improve the working conditions of the workers behind the wheels. It's also suited for long-haul shipping journeys because that's how autonomous driving is designed.

Kodiak's driverless trucks are not all-electric, and it's not their selling point. In fact, the company proves that its self-driving vehicles are more efficient than the usual trucks that we see on the highways.

UC San Diego has published a previous study that Kodiak's trucks are 10% more efficient than non-autonomous trucks. It uses less fuel and energy, as well.

In another story by Forbes, Ikea has locked in on a pilot program with Kodiak which will last for three months. If it goes according to plan, the former could finally agree to a contract that could extend for many years.

The driverless delivery trucks will be serving more Ikea retail stores and warehouses nationwide.

The furniture giant is not only aiming to launch self-driving trucks in the US soon. For the past months, it invested in an AI app which makes use of LIDAR. This technology is useful in molding 3D models of furniture.

Another thing is that it also penned a deal with Electrify America to bring "fast EV chargers" across more than 25 stores in the United States. For EV owners, this would provide more convenience especially if they need to charge their electric cars in a shop.

Autonomous Delivery Setup in Other Companies

Last year, Tech Times reported that FedEx rolled out self-driving trucks as part of Aurora's driverless technology venture. At that time, the company said that it would ship products from Dallas to Houston and vice-versa.

Aurora added that there would be dedicated software for the driverless trucks which is slated to be released in late 2023.

In May, Uber introduced robotic autonomous delivery in Los Angeles. The project was made possible with Motional and Server Robotics, two startups focused on self-driving robotics.

The partnership with the two firms won't involve Aurora this time. According to an Uber spokesperson, the trial will initially involve some merchants who will autonomously deliver the food to the customers.

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Joseph Henry