Apr 27, 2023

04/27/2023 | 02:28am EDT Message : Continental and Aurora Partner to Realize Commercially Scalable Autonomous Trucking Systems Exclusive partnership to make future generations of Aurora's flagship integrated hardware and software systems commercially scalable Industry-first hardware-as-a-service business model by Continental, based on mileage driven expected to be introduced in the US in 2027 Continental CEO Nikolai Setzer: "Continental demonstrates its leading technology expertise by industrializing the first commercially scalable autonomous trucking systems. Together with Aurora, we take a crucial step towards autonomous mobility" Aurora CEO Chris Urmson: "Delivering autonomous vehicles at scale has the potential to dramatically transform modern transportation, bringing new accessibility, safety and efficiency to the movement of goods and people" Frankfurt, Germany/Pittsburgh, USA, April 27, 2023. The technology companies Continental and Aurora Innovation, Inc. have entered into an exclusive partnership to deliver the first commercially scalable generation of Aurora's flagship integrated hardware and software system, the Aurora Driver. The organizations will jointly design, develop, validate, deliver, and service the scalable autonomous system for the trucking industry. The system is expected to be available for carriers and commercial fleet operators across the U.S. and to help reduce costs to facilitate broader adoption. Continental will leverage its decades of experience in systems development for safer, more reliable automotive solutions to industrialize the Aurora Driver and deliver the entire hardware set as well as a new fallback system. In the unlikely event of a failure in the primary autonomy system, the fallback system is designed to ensure a driverless truck can continue the driving task until it reaches a safe position. Additionally, Continental will manage the complete lifecycle of its supplied autonomous hardware kits for the Aurora Driver, from the manufacturing line to decommissioning. The first start of production is expected in 2027, following the expected launch of Aurora Horizon, Aurora's subscription trucking service underpinned by the Aurora Driver, in 2024. "At Continental, we are proud to demonstrate our leading technology expertise by being responsible for the development, manufacturing and implementation of the autonomous driving system kits and the fallback path for Aurora's autonomy system," said Nikolai Setzer, CEO of Continental. "In this exclusive partnership, we bundle our systems competence with Aurora's industry-leading autonomous technology for our common goal to jointly realize the first commercially scalable autonomous trucking systems. A crucial step towards autonomous mobility." "Delivering autonomous vehicles at scale has the potential to dramatically transform modern transportation, bringing new accessibility, safety and efficiency to the movement of goods and people," said Chris Urmson, co-founder and CEO at Aurora. "Continental's legacy in development and industrialization of automated driving systems, combined with its commitment to transform transportation make it an ideal partner for Aurora. Their depth of expertise will be pivotal to scaling Aurora's autonomous trucking service, Aurora Horizon." Increased safety, reduced fuel consumption and quicker delivery times Available documents Share: