GE uses cabinless self-driving trucks with lidar, radar for deliveries

Swedish company Einride’s distinctive unmanned cabinless truck is now performing regular commercial deliveries for GE Appliances (GEA).

The deployment marks the latest stage in the blossoming relationship between the two firms.

Last year, Einride and GEA successfully completed the first pilot of an electric autonomous heavy-duty vehicle without a driver on board on public roads in the United States. The groundbreaking pilot operated out of the latter’s facility in Selmer, Tennessee.

That followed trials on predetermined routes behind closed doors at GEA’s headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky in 2021.

The success of these programs has prompted the companies to step activities up at Selmer, and the futuristic autonomous vehicle (AV) is now moving finished goods between the GEA plant to a warehouse 0.3 miles away, making up to seven trips along a privately owned road daily between Mondays and Thursdays.

The truck, which has been designed from the ground up to be driverless, does without traditional controls, such as pedals and a steering wheel, for a very simple reason – there is no cabin.

Instead, it relies on cameras, lidar and radar sensors, for its self-driving functionality, plus is monitored by Einride’s first remote operator, Tiffany Heathcott, who makes sure there are no interruptions to the vehicle’s progress. Connectivity is provided on a private network provided by Ericsson.

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