Self-driving trucks are mailed to the USPS two-week pilot project

Autonomous trucks have the opportunity to transform the logistics industry and even the federal government employs them to determine how far the technology can work in its infancy.

The United States Postal Service will launch a two-week pilot program that will allow courier trucks to deliver mail. The USPS will use trucks from TuSimple, a startup working on the commercialization of the first stand-alone commercial semiconductor.

The pilot program will consist of five round trips between Phoenix and Dallas, each segment traveling over 1,000 km. Trucks will be driven along I-10, I-20 and I-30, and training will take place at any time of the day or night. Like many other audio-visual pilot programs, a safety engineer and his driver will be on board to monitor the truck and, if necessary, take control.

TuSimple said that this type of trip is exactly what autonomous trucks are made for. Each 22-hour stage, with a short lead time, would typically require two pilots to work in tandem and share extremely close boundaries. The use of audiovisual vehicles would eliminate the need to bathe in another person's musk for almost a full day at a time, which seems to be a benefit.

Of course, the USPS sees benefits beyond odors. "This pilot project is just one of many ways the postal service is innovating and investing in its future," said a spokesman for the USPS in a statement. "We are conducting research and testing as part of our efforts to operate a future class of vehicles that will incorporate new technology to support a diverse mail mix, improve safety, improve service, reduce emissions and generate operational savings. "

Driver shortages are hitting the logistics sector hard. Statistics from the American Trucking Association estimate that the sector could run out of about 175,000 drivers by 2024. So the timing is propitious for autonomous trucks.