Waymo announced on Tuesday, June 28, it would deliver home items for Wayfair using its fleet of self-driving semi-trailer vehicles.
Waymo Adds New Partner, Wayfair for Autonomous Trucking Services
The deliveries will be conducted as part of a Waymo and JB Hunt Transport Services trial to test self-driving trucks along specific shipping routes in Texas. Wayfair, a furniture and home goods retailer, is one of JB Hunt's clients, and it will begin sending out deliveries utilizing Waymo's fleet for a six-week test this July and August.
These deliveries will be done with Waymo's Class 8 autonomous truck transporting supplies between sites in Houston and Dallas along Interstate 45, which was used by Waymo and JB Hunt during the previous test in 2021. The trucks will function automatically but will be monitored from the cab by two Waymo personnel, a professionally licensed driver and a software developer.
Waymo puts its autonomous operations into two divisions: Waymo One, a consumer ride-hailing service, and Waymo Via, the delivery of a product subsidiary focusing on trucking and local delivery.
Waymo has also made a flurry of partnerships in recent months to expand its small trucking company. The company also noted that it does not want to own or manage its own fleet of vehicles but rather would collaborate with truck manufacturers, carriers, and brokers to incorporate its technology into the freight carrying market. Along with JB Hunt, the firm collaborates with CH Robinson and Uber Freight, the ridesharing operator's on-demand brokerage.
Waymo is currently testing the fifth version of its "Driver," a name that describes its combination of hardware, sensors, and AI software, on its test fleet of Class 8 trucks. In addition, the business is working with Daimler, Mercedes-parent Benz's company, on a completely autonomous Level 4 truck system.
Waymo, Uber Teaming Up After Several Legal Rows
Waymo and Uber, two former legal adversaries and furious rivals in the autonomous car field, are collaborating to accelerate the deployment of driverless trucks. Waymo is incorporating Uber Freight, the ride-hailing company's truck brokerage, with the technology that drives its self-driving trucks. According to the firms, this strategic agreement will be long-term. It would allow fleet owners to more swiftly deploy trucks outfitted with Waymo's autonomous "driver" for on-demand delivery routes offered by Uber Freight.
The announcement brings together two of the company's biggest side initiatives. Waymo separates its autonomous initiatives into two divisions: Waymo One, a consumer ride-hailing service, and Waymo Via, the delivery of a product business focusing on both trucks and local delivery. Uber Freight, which debuted in 2017, links truck drivers with shippers in the same manner as the company's ride-hailing app connects drivers with passengers searching for a trip.
Waymo describes the collaboration as a "deep integration" of each company's technologies, including a jointly established "product roadmap" outlining how autonomous trucks would be deployed on Uber's network once they are commercially ready. In the meantime, Waymo says it will utilize Uber Freight in conjunction with its own test fleet to understand better how driverless trucks would receive and fulfill delivery orders.
However, the collaboration extends beyond simply beta testing each other's technology. Waymo stated that it would reserve "billions of miles of its goods-only capacity for the Uber Freight network," to emphasize the significance of this relationship.
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