Kodiak Robotics, Inc. announced Tuesday it has joined forces with IKEA Supply Chain Operations in piloting autonomous freight deliveries in Texas.
The cooperative agreement started in August and includes a Kodiak autonomous heavy-duty truck transporting IKEA products between the IKEA Distribution Center in Baytown and the Ikea Store in Frisco.
“We are proud to be working with Kodiak to achieve our ambitious goals of being at the forefront of innovation and building capabilities for future transportation,” says Dariusz Mroczek, Category Area Transport Manager, IKEA Supply Chain Operations. “Kodiak’s technology will contribute towards our objective to put the driver in focus in the transition towards automated transportation and towards our road safety agenda.”
The purpose of the cooperation, the companies said, was to get a better understanding of how Kodiak’s autonomous driving technology impacts road safety and working conditions for truck drivers on long distances. The company’s self-driving truck will use a professional safety truck driver to pick up a loaded trailer at the distribution center each morning. The driver will then oversee the autonomous delivery to the store by late afternoon.
“IKEA and Kodiak share a commitment to putting safety first,” said Don Burnette, Founder and CEO of Kodiak Robotics. “Together we can enhance safety, improve working conditions for drivers, and create a more sustainable freight transportation system. Adopting autonomous trucking technology can improve drivers’ quality of life by focusing on the local driving jobs most prefer to do. We look forward to working with the IKEA carrier partners to bring these benefits to the IKEA supply chain.”