Postal mail and packages must have traveled hundreds of miles on the back of a truck before they arrive at the doorstep of the intended recipient. Now, the United States Postal Service is testing out how it could shuttle that mail and package by using trucks that do not need a human driver at the wheels. TuSimple has also announced that starting this week it will be using self-driving trucks to deliver packages from Phoenix to Dallas. This is going to be a two-week pilot that the San Diego company is carrying out in conjunction with an agency. The trucks will be making a journey that involves driving for 22 hours between delivery centers in the country and each way they are expected to make trips of more than 1,000 miles. There will be a total of five trips made by Tusimple using three trucks. There will be a human onboard though during the trip which might be a safety engineer or driver whose aim is to monitor the performance of the trucks while they are on the road. These pilot tests are among the many that are ongoing that seeks to find out how trucks being driven without human intervention could help companies cut their costs, boost fuel efficiency, and make trucking easier for people.
Key Takeaways:
- Trucks will have to transport mail and deliveries thousands of miles and through several terrains before they arrive at the owner’s doorsteps.
- Recently, the United States Postal Serivice announcing the idea that it is intending to shuttle mail and other deliveries through trucks that are self-driving.
- The trucks that are part of the service will carry out a 1,000 mile journey as they strive to deliver mail in a 22-hour journey.
“Starting this week, self-driving trucks from TuSimple are driving mail from Phoenix to Dallas.”