Einride’s T-pod all-electric, self-driving transport vehicle will use the Nvidia Drive AI platform to provide its autonomous smarts, the Swedish technology company revealed today. Einride also announced that the very first customer deliveries of its production T-pod truck will begin this fall, meaning it could be making actual deliveries sooner rather than later.
The Nvidia Drive AI platform will allow Einride’s T-pods to operate autonomous for up to 124 miles, with path planning and intelligent environment sensing. The T-pod is designed for remote operations, too, and the company is initially planning a route connecting the Swedish towns of Gothenburg and Helsingborg, with a fleet of 200 vehicles traversing the distance.
In the video above, you can see the T-pod vehicle actually making a fully autonomous trip. They’re functionally designed to provide as much cargo space as possible (each can carry up to 15 standard-sized pallets) in a vehicle with a relatively small physical footprint, which helps with battery efficiency. Used in concert with one another in convoys, they can transport significant amounts of cargo cleanly and efficiently when compared with today’s big rig gas-powered freight trucks.
For uncomplicated, highway routes (ie. distribution depot to distribution depot), the T-pod is a potentially perfect solution – but ensuring the autonomous features work safety and as intended will be the key ingredient to allow for broad consumer adoption.
