Driverless trucks will begin by hauling sand across fracking sites in Texas. Photo: Courtesy of Kodiak
Kodiak Robotics, a maker of driverless big rigs, struck a deal to deliver materials to Atlas Energy Solutions, a Permian Basin fracking company.
Driving the news: The companies said they've already completed a fully driverless delivery of frac sand in Texas' Permian Basin: a 21-mile journey from an Atlas depot to a well site.
Kodiak says it was the first driverless commercial semitruck freight delivery in North America.
Zoom in: Kodiak is one of two companies planning to launch driverless trucking routes in Texas this year.
Like Kodiak, Aurora Innovation chose to launch along the I-45 corridor because it's a major freight route with generally decent weather.
Aurora's trucks are being built and tested in New Braunfels, according to MySA.
Between the lines: A 2017 law allows motor vehicles with automated driving systems to operate in the state without a "human operator."
The big picture: Kodiak says hauling materials in industrial settings like West Texas oilfields is a new and potentially lucrative market for driverless semitrucks.
Operations like those in the Permian Basin, with its private road network and slow speeds, can also serve as a proving ground before operating on public highways, Kodiak CEO Don Burnette tells Axios.
