A four-year collaboration will reach a milestone later this year when Kodiak AI hauls freight for.Swedish furniture maker IKEA with no one in the cab of the truck.
The autonomous trucking company Tuesday said it will haul IKEA Supply freight on a 219-mile stretch of Interstate 45 in Texas.
The driverless runs will be between Kodiak’s Houston and Dallas-area facilities. The companies said this is part of an established 292-mile delivery route connecting IKEA’s Baytown distribution center with its Frisco store.
Kodiak and Ikea started their collaboration four years ago, during which Kodiak delivered more than 1,300 loads and logged more than 750,000 miles while autonomously carrying IKEA goods with a safety observer aboard.
Kodiak in a statement said, "We have delivered great service seven days a week, night and day, rain and shine, with an impressive, nearly perfect on-time delivery record.
"Together, we’ve grown to understand how autonomous driving technology can improve safety and enhance reliability throughout the IKEA supply chain. We now know exactly what it takes to transform the underlying technology into an AI-driven product that generates value and efficiency."
The statement further said, "By concentrating on long-haul routes, Kodiak and IKEA have learned how adopting autonomous truck technology can enhance human driver’s quality of life, focusing their efforts on the local driving jobs that most prefer. They can reduce their time sleeping on the side of the highway and instead be home with family and friends."
For now, Kodiak said it is undergoing its final checks in preparation for what is called a "landmark moment" – those include learning how to pronounce “FÖRARLÖS LASTBIL.” That is “driverless truck” in Swedish, according to Kodiak.
