Exploring Kodiak Robotics' pursuit to enhance safety and efficiency in the freight industry through autonomous trucks, focusing on long haul routes and last mile operations optimization. The chapter discusses partnerships with drivers, carriers, and digital platforms like Uber Freight, highlighting the development of fleet management systems and the emphasis on perfecting highway autonomy with a driverless L4 system at the core.
Don Burnette has followed a familiar path into autonomous vehicles, as an early member of Google's self-driving car program and the Otto trucking startup that formed the core of Uber's early foray into the technology. Now, as the founder of the autonomous trucking startup Kodiak he's up against some of the biggest names in the business as competition converges on the promising but challenging trucking business. Burnette joins this week's Autonocast episode to discuss what he's learned about the AV space, why he's focused on trucking, Kodiak's "middle mile" strategy, sensors and much more.