Gatik CEO sees future of autonomous trucking in short hauls

Late last year, autonomous vehicle startup Gatik announced a big step: It removed the safety operator from behind the wheel of two self-driving trucks as part of its partnership with Walmart

NEW YORK -- Late last year, autonomous vehicle startup Gatik announced a big step: It eliminated the safety operator from behind the wheel of two self-driving trucks as part of its partnership with discounter Walmart. Now, the Mountain View, California firm is looking to speed up the process of fully driverless truck operations in the next few years.

The company stands apart from other autonomous delivery companies because it doesn't haul goods directly to shoppers. Rather, its autonomous trucks deliver groceries and other goods from big distribution centers to retail locations on fixed, repetitive, short distances, a critical link to the delivery system. For example, Gatik's two fully autonomous driving vehicles for Walmart haul goods on a fixed 7.1 mile (11.4 kilometers) route in Bentonville, Arkansas, where Walmart's headquarters is based.

Gatik, which operates a fleet of 25 autonomous trucks, has pilot programs with Walmart in Louisiana and Arkansas as well as Loblaw Cos. in Ontario, Canada. Last year, it expanded into Texas with fresh sources of capital. It has developed proprietary software that is a hybrid between classic robotics and machine learning-based algorithms, and its trucks feature sensors with a 360 degree view.

Among its rivals are TuSimple, which did a fully autonomous test of a semitruck on a freeway in Arizona last year. There’s also Aurora, which is working with Volvo on an autonomous truck, and Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo, which is working with UPS.