Category: News - Page 3 - Torc Robotics

Torc Signs Lease Agreement for New Autonomous Truck Hub in Dallas-Fort Worth Area for Testing and Commercial Operations

by Torc | Jan 7, 2025 | News

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

New space in AllianceTexas will support the growth and development of Torc’s autonomous driving product

BLACKSBURG, Va – Jan. 7, 2024 – Torc, an independent subsidiary of Daimler Truck AG and a pioneer in commercializing self-driving vehicle technology, today announced the company has signed a leasing agreement for a facility located in Hillwood’s AllianceTexas development that will serve as Torc’s autonomous truck hub in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The new location will be a hub for Torc’s autonomous testing efforts, customer freight pilots, and future commercialization slated for 2027.

The site will feature a customer experience center, offices, and dedicated control centers for fleet management and operations. Well into productization, Torc’s expansion in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area positions the company for the next phase of autonomous driving and provides a strategic advantage due to its proximity to a major freight route between Dallas and Laredo, Texas, on Interstate 35. Laredo is the largest economic port of entry in the US, with more than 15,000 truck crossings per day and $320B in total trade last year, opening up a prime opportunity for Torc’s growth.

“Establishing our presence in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, a key region for the future of autonomous trucking, is a critical milestone for Torc,” commented Peter Vaughan Schmidt, CEO. “This new hub will enable us to better serve our current and future customers, enhance our operational capabilities, and drive forward the adoption of autonomous technology in the logistics industry. As we work toward commercialization, the new hub will give us access to talent, resources and routes that we didn’t previously have, and we’re excited about the growth opportunities ahead.”

“Opening our Dallas Fort Worth hub is a testament to the incredible progress Torc has made. This new hub not only expands our operational footprint but also reinforces our commitment to advancing autonomous technology,” said Andrew Culhane, Chief Commercial Officer for Torc. “This comes on the heels of the successful product acceptance test validation of our autonomous trucks without a driver in a multi-lane, closed-course, highway-speed environment, further showcasing our dedication to the highest safety and product maturity standards. As we continue through the productization phase of our development cycle, we are excited about the future and the opportunities this new hub opens up.”

“We are excited to welcome Torc to AllianceTexas. This collaboration highlights Hillwood’s commitment to fostering mobility innovation and building a more resilient supply chain ecosystem with industry-leading technology, reliable infrastructure, and forward-thinking customers,” said Ian Kinne, Director of Logistics Innovation at Hillwood. “The strategic location of this hub along the critical freight corridor of Interstate 35 is a testament to some of the unique advantages of AllianceTexas. Torc’s presence here will further drive innovation, enhance connectivity, and provide significant value to our customers as we work toward a more efficient and connected future in logistics.”

The hub will be located at 13119 Old Denton Rd., Fort Worth, TX 76177, and Torc plans to start occupying the new space early this year. The new site includes an 18-acre facility and 22,000 square feet of office space. The facility will be built out over the first half of 2025, ensuring it complies with the standards required for autonomous vehicle operations.

Announced in late 2024, Torc is also expanding its workforce in the Ann Arbor, Mich., area, where it plans to hire more than 100 positions in the coming months.

Sunset, sunset aerial Ft Worth AllianceTexas

Photo provided by Hillwood/AllianceTexas

About Torc

Torc, 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 nearly 20 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. In addition to its Blacksburg headquarters and engineering offices in Austin, Texas, and Montreal, Canada, Torc has a fleet operations facility in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in Texas, to support the company’s productization and commercialization efforts, as well as a presence in Ann Arbor, MI, to take advantage of the autonomous and automotive talent base in that region. 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.

About AllianceTexas

Developed by Hillwood, AllianceTexas is an unparalleled regional success story that has transformed the North Texas economy and connected the area to global industry. Consisting of 27,000 acres, the development is anchored by the world’s first dedicated industrial airport, Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport (AFW), and hosts one of the nation’s premier intermodal hubs. Today, AllianceTexas is home to 575 companies that have created more than 66,000 direct jobs and have approximately 58 million square feet of developed commercial real estate assets. The development’s cumulative impact since 1989 is an estimated $120 billion for the North Texas region. For additional information, please visit www.alliancetexas.com.

The AllianceTexas Mobility Innovation Zone (MIZ) spans the 27,000-acre industrial-focused, public-private ecosystem that brings policymakers and industry innovators together to propel surface and air mobility forward. By leveraging its one-of-a-kind infrastructure, the MIZ offers unparalleled resources to comprehensively scale and commercialize the latest logistics and mobility technologies. For more information on the AllianceTexas MIZ and how your organization can be part of this industry-shaping environment, visit www.alliancetexasmiz.com.

Torc Robotics Honored with Food Logistics and Supply & Demand Chain Executive’s 2024 Top Software & Tech Award in the Robotics Category

by Kiley Thompson | Dec 19, 2024 | News

Recognized for Pioneering Robotics Solutions

Food Logistics and Supply & Demand Chain Executive have named Torc Robotics as a winner of the “Robotics” category in the 2024 Top Software & Tech awards. Organized by Food Logistics and Supply & Demand Chain Executive, The Top Software & Tech awards acknowledge software and technology solutions aimed at enhancing supply chain automation, efficiency and visibility. Torc’s Virtual Driver technology, recognized for its innovative approach, is reshaping the freight and logistics sector by addressing some of the industry’s most pressing challenges, from labor shortages to road safety.

The award submission for Torc’s Virtual Driver technology showcased its groundbreaking capabilities and highlighted its unique contributions to the freight and logistics sector. As part of the entry, Torc emphasized how its Virtual Driver technology goes beyond traditional artificial intelligence technologies by addressing specific industry pain points, such as driver shortages and operational inefficiencies. By demonstrating the technology’s ability to automate long-haul routes through a sophisticated integration of sensors, real-time data processing and AI-driven decision-making, Torc’s submission underscored the Virtual Driver’s potential to redefine the future of freight.

Taking the Road Less Traveled in Robotics

In a competitive field where nearly half of the submissions focused on supply chain visibility solutions (43%), Torc Robotics distinguished itself with its Virtual Driver technology. Unlike the majority of entries, which were primarily enhancements of existing technologies (55%), Torc’s Virtual Driver stood out as an advanced, new-to-market solution designed to reshape long-haul logistics.

“Winning the 2024 Top Software & Tech Award in the robotics category is a testament to our team’s dedication to advancing freight automation,” said Peter Vaughan Schmidt, CEO of Torc Robotics. “With milestones like validating our Virtual Driver in driverless testing at highway speeds, we’re proving how this technology can deliver reliable, cost-effective and scalable solutions with strong product-market fit for our customers.”

“Automation, sustainability, smart technology, supply chain optimization and risk management were the major themes of this year’s new software and technology solutions. These new products and enhancements are upping the ante in modernizing how product moves through the chain, and I appreciate everything this year’s winners do to ensure the safety, security and sustainability of our supply chains,” says Marina Mayer, Editor-in-Chief of Food Logistics and Supply & Demand Chain Executive.

Please visit https://foodl.me/kmr2r068 to view the full list of winners.

A Product Release, Not a Demo: Why Torc’s Autonomous Product Release v0.1 Was ‘The Next Step’

by Kiley Mitchell Thompson | Nov 13, 2024 | News, Education, Featured

As Torc Robotics nears its 20th year of operations in 2025, it has achieved an incredible milestone: a fully self-driving product release validation. More than just a demo, this milestone manifests the hard-won lessons behind Torc’s R&D, advanced engineering, artificial intelligence, machine learning, software best practices, and operational excellence. But if you look past the dramatic images of no human behind the wheel of an 18-wheeler moving at 65mph, it represents a powerful step forward toward an efficient and sustainable freight system that will reshape our supply chain… and you also have a rather standard production stage step.

The autonomous drive without a human driver was a straightforward, product milestone. Additionally important, it marked the critical next step from Torc’s advanced engineering phase to productization on a unified, embedded platform. Not a bolt-on solution, Torc’s integrated Freightliner Cascadia is autonomous-ready, creating more efficient, profitable way to move freight across middle mile routes.

The productization stage of any development process is meant to prove that a product was built correctly, in both reference to customer pain points and needs, and in our case, using automotive and software best practices to create a road-worthy product. Every software you’ve ever used or product you’ve ever bought has likely had some form of product validation stage. In our self-driving truck validation, we need to address the fact that the community needs a safe vehicle for the long-haul journeys wherein a human driver is unavailable. Therefore, our truck must be able to drive on its own. So, our product validation was more than just a demo – it was real time, real speed proof that the software can do what it’s supposed to do, as well as a demonstration of what this technology can do for our customers and our communities.

Amazon originally started as just an online bookstore in the mid-1990s. Jeff Bezos wanted to create “an everything store” but knew that the first step to a full-scale productization needed a controlled, narrow focus. He chose books because they were easily sourced and shippable from specific warehouses, and introduced a simple online storefront. Through this product validation, Amazon was then able to work on logistics, customer service, and online services.

The Torc product management team is quick to point out that this milestone wasn’t a demonstration but simply a stage in a product release lifecycle, marking the next stage of product maturity. “All software needs to have this step to be created,” says Sheila Scanlon, Vice President of Product Management. “You don’t release software until it’s passed all the tests, and while this test was amazing to see, it was a product validation event. This release ties completely back to our product roadmap with a subset of the end features being fully tested and verified, but no software release is ever the ‘final’ release. It’s just like your cell phone: It’s constantly getting upgrades, as will our software.”

Larry Page and Sergey Brin, two PhD students, had the software know-how to create a better and faster search algorithm. They tested on a small controlled, gated data pool at first, Stanford University’s computer network, as their first product validation. After positive feedback and expansion, that search algorithm eventually became Google.

The company’s applied and responsible artificial intelligence (AI) applications, system architecture, production-intent embedded hardware, and directing safety engineering all joined up to get the truck on the road autonomously. From this point until market entry, Torc is working on fully vetted, tested, and traceable software. Our product validation stage is just one chapter in a much longer story.

“This product is never going to be done. This was one step. We’re continuing to build upon the product capabilities and features, with every additional release until our version 1.0 release, which will be available early 2027,” says Scanlon. “It’s a subset of the feature complete. It’s always going to be growing and expanding. New sensors and hardware will be created, and we’ll have better and better capabilities and more and more features, which will allow us to expand our ODD or expand the roads.”

At Torc, we’re targeting initial use cases across the southern United States for our first commercial product launch, scheduled for 2027. Our product validation event has proven that our first leg of freight, in Texas, is a feasible and achievable use case for our technology. As we develop new features and unlock new routes, our self-driving semis will become a powerhouse of safe, efficient, and easy freight.

Torc Robotics Recognized as a 2024 Public Relations and Marketing Excellence Awards Winner

by Torc | Nov 4, 2024 | News

Torc Robotics is proud to announce that it has been named a winner in the 2024 Public Relations and Marketing Excellence Awards, presented by the Business Intelligence Group. The 2024 Public Relations and Marketing Excellence Awards identify outstanding agencies, departments and executives who have successfully executed strategies to solve real business challenges. The recognition of Torc’s Public Relations team as Department of the Year highlights the group’s success in educating the public about autonomous trucking through thoughtful social and earned media efforts.

A Year of Milestones in PR

In 2023, the integrated approach of combining media placements and a focused social media strategy generated over 10 million social media impressions—a 264% increase from 2022 —and 30,000 new followers. These efforts, along with a 40% increase in thought leadership pieces and 5% increase in SOV against competitors helped strengthen Torc’s reputation as a thought leader and raise public awareness of autonomous transportation.

Driving Awareness for Autonomous Trucking and Industry Leadership

“We’re incredibly proud to receive this award, which recognizes our PR team’s relentless dedication to advancing Torc’s thought leadership, driving education and raising awareness around autonomous trucking,” said Laura Lawton, Director of External Communications at Torc Robotics. “This accolade celebrates the exceptional accomplishments of our team as we continue to drive Torc’s vision for the future of freight.”

Russ Fordyce, CEO of the Business Intelligence Group, congratulated the winners, stating, “Congratulations to Torc Robotics for their remarkable achievement. This award is a testament to the skill, innovation, and passion that Torc brings to the field. We are proud to celebrate organizations like Torc Robotics that set the benchmark for excellence in public relations and marketing.”

Daimler Truck subsidiary Torc Robotics achieves Driver-Out Validation Milestone

by Torc | Nov 4, 2024 | News

Autonomous driving company, Torc Robotics, backed by Daimler Truck achieves driver-out capability on closed course in Texas as it works toward a 2027 commercial launch.

Conducted at full operating speed of up to 65 mph, the product acceptance test underscores Torc’s progress.

Joanna Buttler, Head of Autonomous Technology Group at Daimler Truck, says: “The autonomous-ready Freightliner Cascadia with redundant safety features is an industry-first and lays the foundation for autonomous driving. Congratulations to Torc for successfully achieving driver-out capability on a closed course. This demonstrates the progress and integrated development between Daimler Truck and Torc as we focus on achieving driver out on public roads as the next milestone to make autonomous trucking at scale a reality.”

Leinfelden-Echterdingen, Germany / Portland, Oregon, USA / Blacksburg, Virginia, USA – Torc Robotics, an independent subsidiary of Daimler Truck and a pioneer in self-driving vehicle technology, recently announced that it has successfully completed advanced validation of their driverless trucks in a multi-lane closed course environment in Texas earlier this year.

Conducted at full operating speed of up to 65 mph, the product acceptance test underscores Torc’s progress in autonomous driving capabilities and prepares the company to be able to scale and commercialize safe, robust autonomous trucking solutions by 2027. Unlike a demo, this milestone highlights Torc’s entry into scalable product release, with their applied artificial intelligence technology, system architecture, production-intent embedded hardware, and safety engineering converging to shape a product that prioritizes true software best practices and safer roadways for all.

This product validation milestone exemplifies Torc’s commitment to rigorous safety and maturity standards, marking a critical step from advanced engineering and development to full productization on a unified, embedded platform.

Joanna Buttler, Head of Autonomous Technology Group at Daimler Truck, says: “The autonomous-ready Freightliner Cascadia with redundant safety features is an industry-first and lays the foundation for autonomous driving. Congratulations to Torc for successfully achieving driver-out capability on a closed course. This demonstrates the progress and integrated development between Daimler Truck and Torc as we focus on achieving driver out on public roads as the next milestone to make autonomous trucking at scale a reality.”

“This is a key moment in our mission to build a profitable, scalable business as the world’s leading autonomous solution,” commented CEO Peter Vaughan Schmidt. “We observed impressive reliability in our repeated driverless runs, which leveraged Torc’s unparalleled embedded and integrated platform on Daimler Truck’s Freightliner Cascadia. We look forward to unlocking the full value of autonomous driving software for customers who prioritize safety, operations costs, ease of use and reliability.”

Achieving the ability to run a truck without a safety driver in the cab is a significant milestone in the commercialization of autonomous driving. So far, Daimler Truck and Torc have tested and developed autonomous driving with a safety driver and an operator on board. Their task is to constantly monitor the truck during all operations and be ready to take over from the autonomous driver at any time. Daimler Truck and Torc have proven that Torc’s autonomous driving software can safely navigate on highways, surface streets, ramps and turns at controlled intersections.

Torc Robotics Performs Successful Fully Autonomous Product Validation

by Torc | Oct 29, 2024 | News, Press Releases

BLACKSBURG, Va – Oct. 29, 2024 – Torc Robotics, an independent subsidiary of Daimler Truck AG and a pioneer in commercializing self-driving vehicle technology, today announced it began successful advanced validation of the company’s autonomous trucks without a driver in a multi-lane closed-course environment earlier this year.

Conducted at full operating speed of up to 65 mph to optimize fuel efficiency, Torc’s driverless product acceptance test underscores Torc’s evolution to productization, positioning the company to scale and commercialize safe, robust autonomous trucking solutions by 2027. Unlike a demo, this milestone highlights Torc’s entry into scalable product release, with the company’s applied artificial intelligence (AI) technology, system architecture, production-intent embedded hardware and safety engineering converging to shape a product that prioritizes true software best practices and safer roadways for all.

“Artificial intelligence has undoubtedly been the biggest buzzword of the year, but real-world uses are few and far between. Autonomous trucking is one of the most concrete applications for AI that can drive demonstrated revenue, business value and industry transformation – and Torc is at the forefront of creating a safe autonomous solution with safety, scalability and cost efficiency top of mind,” commented Torc’s Chief Technology Officer, CJ King. “With our long-standing tenure in the autonomous space, this milestone reinforces Torc’s safety-focused commitment to driving the future of freight.”

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 19 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 Dallas, Texas, and engineering offices in Austin, Texas; Blacksburg, VA, 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.

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