Aurora is embarking on a commercial pilot to haul freight for logistics firm Schneider in Texas using its Aurora Driver autonomous technology. Schneider hauls freight over 9.3 million miles a day in America, making 24 hour non-stop autonomous freight operations an attractive prospect.

The Aurora Driver has begun weekly autonomous hauls between Dallas and Houston with Aurora vehicle operators on board. Load frequency is expected to increase as Schneider expands its relationship with Aurora.

For Aurora, working with Schneider is an important step in delivering its subscription-based autonomous trucking product, Aurora Horizon.

The pilot will help prepare Aurora Horizon in providing autonomy on an industrial scale. The Texas pilot with Schneider will build the autonomous capabilities of Aurora Driver, which learns from every load it hauls autonomously.

It will also help with vehicle readiness. Weekly hauls allow Aurora to test the durability of its next-generation trucks, based on PACCAR’s Peterbilt 579M, for commercial operation and deployment.

The collaboration between the two firms also provides Aurora with feedback from a major freight haulage firm. The Texas pilot is Aurora’s fourth commercial pilot and will allow one of the industry’s largest carriers to play a significant role in testing and validating Aurora’s product and service.

“Understanding more about an autonomous future is the logical next step to build a network that continues to deliver the best service for our customers,” said Rob Reich, Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer at Schneider.

“Schneider has a reputation for delivering consistent and reliable service, evidenced by the sheer number of Fortune 500 customers. Preparing Aurora Horizon for prime-time with Schneider springloads our ability to deploy our product at scale in the years to come,” said Sterling Anderson, Aurora’s Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer.