Dive Brief:
- New self-driving startup Waabi’s autonomous technology for trucks is ready to hit the roads for testing, founder Raquel Urtasun told Transport Dive in an interview.
- The startup unveiled its Waabi Driver autonomous system earlier this month, with the hope to eventually remove both the safety driver and engineer from the truck cab.
- “Waabi is the player that is really a very differentiated technology that is much more scalable, safer and flexible,” Urtasun said, contrasting the technology with other autonomous systems that she dubbed the “previous generation.”
Dive Insight:
In an increasingly crowded AV truck market, Waabi is hoping to set itself apart from competitors with what Urtusan says is superior simulation testing.
“Self-driving trucks, they don't learn when they actually are on the road,” she said, whereas simulations can make learning continuous.
Waabi’s virtual simulations expose its system to a variety of unique scenarios, helping the technology to learn from each interaction, Urtusan said. The AV system automatically learns from data, instead of requiring manual code adjustments, according to a company blog post.
The Waabi Driver product is designed for installation into trucks on the factory floor. Urtusan said the company is not giving a timeline for when the fully autonomous system will be ready to run without a safety driver.
Waabi’s system debut comes as competitors mark new technology milestones. Earlier this month, Kodiak touted its autonomous technology’s ability to maintain control of the truck during a tire blowout.
