With 18 years of experience, Ramachandran will leverage her skillset in delivering complex integrated systems to lead the development and deployment of autonomous driving technology
BLACKSBURG, Va – March 7, 2024 – Torc Robotics, an independent subsidiary of Daimler Truck AG and a pioneer in commercializing self-driving vehicle technology, today announced the appointment of Bhuvana Ramachandran as the vice president of engineering in the Product Engineering and Release organization. In her role, Ramachandran will be responsible for developing a comprehensive approach to the safe development, systematic testing and deployment of autonomous driving technology in Level 4 freight trucks.
“Bhuvana’s background and expertise in AI-based autonomous vehicle solutions coupled with her passion for innovation will be crucial for us on our journey towards commercialization of autonomous trucking,” said Peter Vaughan Schmidt, Torc Robotics’ CEO. “Bhuvana is a seasoned leader in the industry, and we are fortunate to have her aboard the Torc Robotics team.”
Along with system level testing, Ramachandran will lead simulation validation, with a goal of building a realistic, high-fidelity virtual environment while meticulously replicating real-world driving scenarios, enabling rigorous qualification and refinement of self-driving algorithms and systems. Virtual validation allows for the systematic exploration of various road conditions, traffic scenarios and unexpected events, helping to uncover potential challenges and vulnerabilities in the autonomous system.
Having spent more than five years establishing the team and directing autonomous vehicle software quality for Zoox, Ramachandran’s expertise extends across various domains from networking hardware, embedded software for virtualization and data storage products, to artificial-intelligence-based autonomous vehicles and their validation. She has successfully led teams through the analysis and implementation of verification and validation processes for driverless operational design domains and has experience in orchestrating seamless product releases.
“Throughout my career, I have been dedicated to driving innovation, ensuring the highest quality in products, and fostering a collaborative engineering culture to achieve transformative results,” said Ramachandran. “Torc’s commitment to advancing autonomous technology in a safe and sustainable way aligns perfectly with my passion for pushing the boundaries of what is possible in engineering.”
For more information on Torc, please visit www.torc.ai.
About Torc Robotics
Torc Robotics, headquartered in Blacksburg, Virginia, is an independent subsidiary of Daimler Truck AG, a global leader and pioneer in trucking. Founded in 2005 at the birth of the self-driving vehicle revolution, Torc has over 18 years of experience in pioneering safety-critical, self-driving applications. Torc offers a complete self-driving vehicle software and integration solution and is currently focusing on commercializing autonomous trucks for long-haul applications in the U.S. Torc operates test facilities in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and engineering offices in Austin, Texas; Stuttgart, Germany; and Montreal, Canada. Torc’s purpose is driving the future of freight with autonomous technology. As the world’s leading autonomous trucking solution, we empower exceptional employees, deliver a focused, hub-to-hub autonomous truck product, and provide our customers with the safest, most reliable, and cost-efficient solution to the market.
