Category: Events

Torc Takes CES 2025

by Kiley Thompson | Jan 9, 2025 | Events, News

Torc has begun successful advanced validation of our autonomous trucks without a driver in a multi-lane closed-course environment.

The new year, and Torc's 20th Anniversary, kicked off in Las Vegas

Torc started 2025 – its 20th anniversary year – in a big way, by making a splash at CES in Las Vegas, January 7-10, 2025. As guests of partner Aeva, one of Torc’s newest autonomous trucks took center stage in the booth, sparking conversations and questions from CES attendees and visitors.

Many booth visitors approached with questions from a freight company owner/operator perspective, and spoke with Torc’s own truck drivers, asking about the truck and its technology, as well as product market entry, parameters, and software availability. With the Torc truck on hand to act as the Aeva show-and-tell example, our Torc team happily explained the use of the Aeva sensors in visualizations. A healthy portion of questions came from international attendees looking for solutions to their own supply chain issues, proving autonomous trucking’s market continues to widen.

Additionally, the Aeva booth hosted a panel, Deploying Autonomous Trucks at Scale, moderated by Richard Bishop, of Bishop Consulting. Torc CEO Peter Vaughn Schmidt joined in the conversation, along with Joanna Buttler, the head of the global autonomous technology group at Daimler Truck, and Soroush Salehian, co-founder and CEO of Aeva. Watch the panel below.

“Partnerships are the backbone of our work and our company, and so being at CES with Aeva shows the commitment we have to creating an autonomous ecosystem with technology, freight logistics, and more,” said Walter Grigg, Customer & Partnerships Management Director.

“Starting 2025 here sets our pace for the year,” said Andrew Culhane, who celebrated his 17th Torc anniversary while at CES. “We ended 2024 on an upswing and we’re continuing to get out there, showing what 20 years of Torc innovation is doing to drive the future of freight.”

An industry only event, CES hosts presentations of new products and technologies. The first “Consumer Electronics Show” was held in Chicago in 1967, where new technology such as pocket radios and TVs with integrated circuits were displayed. This year, AI, automotive and smart home technology held center stage.

Click through the pictures below to get an idea of Torc and Aeva at CES 2025.

Self-driving vehicle company CEO, Peter Vaughn Schmitt, speaks on a panel at CES

Two AEVA employees in suits seated in front of a black background that reads, "AEVA".

Torc's black autonomous semi-truck parked on the CES convention center floor; an employee shares information with a convention goer in front of the truck

A diorama of farming equipment at a convention.

The Autonomous Freight panel at CES: four men speak on a stage beneath a screen advertising the name of the panel.

Torc CEO, Peter Vaughan Schmidt, and John Bozzella, Alliance CEO, speak on a panel at CES

Sunset, sunset aerial Ft Worth AllianceTexas

Torc Joins PAVE’s Autonomous Trucking Weekend at the Texas State Fair

by Kiley Mitchell Thompson | Oct 17, 2024 | Events, Featured

Torc Joins PAVE’s Autonomous Trucking Weekend at the Texas State Fair

The Texas State Fair, held annually in Dallas, is one of the largest and most famous state fairs in the U.S. It’s been held since 1886, making it over 135 years old. It was originally established to showcase the agricultural and industrial progress of Texas. And this year, the industrial progress included a corral of autonomous trucks.

Invited by PAVE to join a collaborative Autonomous Trucking Weekend on October 5th and 6th, Torc joined Aurora and Plus in showcasing our truck and answering questions of fairgoers about the self-driving future.

“The Texas economy is a powerhouse. Industry brings good technology to where the opportunity is,” says Walter Grigg, Torc’s director of industry partnerships. “The state of Texas has been very friendly and welcoming, and the public has been very friendly and welcoming.”

Over the course of the event, all of the companies and PAVE representatives took questions from the public, discussing how self-driving fleets will help reshape the trucking industry. Attendees left with new information and a better understanding of how autonomous trucks will fit into a larger more robust shipping landscape. In a follow-up attendee survey conducted by PAVE, only 14% of respondents reported their comfort level as “uncomfortable” with sharing the road with autonomous trucks, and 38% rated their comfort as 4-5 on a 5-point scale, 5 being the most comfortable. Additionally, most saw improved road safety by the elimination of human error, and fewer crashes due to driver fatigue, as positives to the adoption of autonomous trucking.

“We appreciate that our testing is a privilege, all of our companies, on public roads. The focus on safety never goes away but you’ve definitely seen — even if you’ve not known it — you’ve seen autonomous trucks. And you’ll see more of them,” says Walter.