Uber tested its first self-driving truck Tuesday with a successful beer delivery in partnership with Anheuser-Busch InBev, venturing into new territory after acquiring self-driving pioneer Otto last August.
The self-driving truck successfully carried 200 cases of Budweiser 120 miles from Fort Collins, Colorado, to Colorado Springs while a truck driver monitored the truck, prepared to take over if necessary. The truck drove itself on roads with regular traffic without needing any intervention, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Uber bought Otto for $700 million last August as part of its hope to become a huge transportation network that uses manned and unmanned vehicles to move people and products.
The partnership with Anheuser-Busch could mean more time for drivers to rest while still delivering goods. “We view self-driving trucks as the future, and we want to be a part of that,” said senior director of logistics strategy James Sembrot, The New York Times reported.
The trucking industry generates revenue of more than $720 billion in revenue per year, the American Trucking Association reported to USA Today. But truck industry advocates are concerned autonomous driving will hurt jobs and ultimately be unsafe in unusual road conditions like emergencies or bad weather. About a third of trucking revenue is paid to drivers, so cutting back even a little would bring big cost savings for trucking companies.
Otto plans to test for different road and weather conditions as it continues to fine-tune its systems. Further partnerships with Anheuser-Busch have not yet been worked out. The beer company currently travels about 450 million miles a year to deliver its products to consumers.
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