<\/p>\n
Since the industrial revolution first brought machines into prominence, self-driving vehicles have populated future visions.<\/p>\n
And with the news<\/a> that the autonomous delivery robot marketplace is getting a shot in the arm from artificial intelligence (AI), observers are wondering just when self-driving, autonomous vehicles will be a scalable, real-world reality.<\/p>\n After all, it was just this week that Alphabet announced<\/a> in its quarterly materials and earnings call that it was investing an additional $5 billion in Waymo, the autonomous-driving business that originally took to the road over a decade and a half ago as Google\u2019s own self-driving car project. Waymo has yet to turn a profit.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, General Motors (GM) said on Tuesday (July 23) it was \u201cindefinitely suspending<\/a>\u201d work on Origin, the name of the autonomous vehicle produced by GM\u2019s self-driving subsidiary Cruise. Cruise\u2019s driverless taxi product, for its part, has restarted test operations in Dallas, Houston and Phoenix, the company said during its Tuesday earnings call<\/a>, noting that the service is in a testing phase-only and will not be open to customers.<\/p>\n \u201cOur vision to transform mobility using autonomous technology is unchanged, and every mile traveled, and every simulation, brings us closer because Cruise is an AI-first company,\u201d said GM CEO Mary Barra in her most recent shareholder letter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Electric vehicle (EV) automaker Tesla<\/a>, perhaps the company most synonymous with self-driving cars, or at least promises of them, is postponing its planned<\/a> Aug. 8 robotaxi unveiling<\/a> to October. CEO Elon Musk had predicted in 2019 that Tesla would\u00a0launch a robotaxi<\/a>\u00a0by 2020.<\/p>\n \u201cThe value of Tesla overwhelmingly is autonomy,\u201d Musk said on the company\u2019s earnings call<\/a> Tuesday. \u201cThese other things are in the noise relative to autonomy.\u201d<\/p>\n Read more<\/strong>: From Factories to the Fast Lane, Unpacking Autonomy\u2019s Potential<\/a><\/p>\n Autonomous vehicles (AVs) encompass a broad range of technologies that enable vehicles to operate without human intervention. This category includes self-driving cars, trucks, drones and other robotic delivery systems. The development of AVs is being driven by advances in artificial intelligence, machine learning, sensors, and connectivity, with major players and upstarts alike leading the charge.<\/p>\n One of those upstarts, Kodiak, announced<\/a> on Tuesday that it plans to launch a fully driverless commercial trucking service in partnership with Atlas Energy Solutions, a provider of sand and oilfield logistics.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Permian Basin\u2019s expansive private lease road network, which expands across the Delaware and Midland Basins, is an ideal environment in which to introduce autonomous trucking in North America,\u201d Atlas Chief Supply Chain Officer Chris Scholla said in a statement.<\/p>\n \u201cDeploying driverless trucks with Atlas marks the beginning of a new era for autonomous vehicles,\u201d Kodiak founder and CEO Don Burnette added. \u201cOur partnership with Atlas will make us the first autonomous semi-truck company to establish commercial driverless operations, and the first company to make autonomous trucking a real business. We look forward to scaling our trucking product not only in the Permian Basin, but also over-the-road.\u201d\u200b\u200b<\/strong><\/p>\n Elsewhere, Toyota-backed startup May Mobility announced<\/a> last week (July 16) that more than 10,000 riders have used its\u00a0goMARTI<\/a>\u00a0autonomous vehicle service in\u00a0Grand Rapids, Minn.\u00a0since its launch in\u00a0September 2022<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe in our lifetime, not just automobiles, but every piece of moving machinery<\/a> on the face of the earth will be automated. And the smart infrastructure that oversees it and supports it will also be automated,\u201d May Mobility<\/a> CFO Anna Brunelle<\/a> told PYMNTS in February for the series \u201cDay In The Life Of A CFO<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Read more<\/strong>: Musk\u2019s xAI Plans Spotlight Tesla\u2019s Autonomy Challenges<\/a><\/p>\n While the potential benefits of autonomous vehicles are substantial, their widespread adoption also presents challenges. These include regulatory hurdles, cybersecurity risks and the potential displacement of jobs in sectors such as trucking and logistics. Ensuring the safety and reliability of AVs is paramount, particularly in mixed-traffic environments where human drivers and autonomous vehicles must coexist.<\/p>\n As PYMNTS\u00a0previously reported<\/a>, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is investigating Tesla\u2019s Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD) systems following crashes that continued to occur despite a December recall of over 2 million vehicles.<\/p>\n \u201cThe environment is becoming much more complex to manage, which is where more advanced\u00a0technologies<\/a>\u00a0come into the picture, and why you need data,\u201d\u00a0NoTraffic<\/a>\u00a0CEO and Co-founder\u00a0Tal Kreisler<\/a>\u00a0told PYMNTS in April about connected autonomous systems.<\/p>\nTransforming the Connected Supply Chain and Digital Economy<\/strong><\/h2>\n
The Ongoing Challenges to Unlocking Autonomy\u2019s Potential <\/strong><\/h2>\n