More autonomous vehicles are hitting the road as Texas and Fort Worth\u2019s Alliance Airport emerge as a major testing ground for the industry.<\/p>\n
Gatik operates its Texas hub out of Alliance Airport, where it is expanding its footprint in driverless freight operations.<\/p>\n
The company says it currently has 10 driverless delivery trucks operating on public streets in Texas, Arkansas, and Arizona. Those vehicles are focused on short-haul routes, moving goods from regional distribution centers to store shelves.<\/p>\n
\u201cUltimately, we are solving that problem that our customers are facing, which is needing more trucks, more drivers, more freight moved on a daily basis, and autonomy is a way to solve all of those problems while not increasing cost,\u201d said Gatik Head of Innovation Safety Adam Campbell.<\/p>\n
Campbell said Texas has been supportive of the autonomous vehicle industry and expects job opportunities to grow as the company expands.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile we are at 10 trucks today the plan is to scale to 60 in a few weeks and months to hundreds of vehicles circulating across multiple jurisdictions in the United States this year and beyond,\u201d Campbell said.<\/p>\n
The Dallas-Fort Worth area and Texas more broadly have become a central testing ground for autonomous vehicle development. The state\u2019s Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Task Force brings together government agencies and private companies working in the space.<\/p>\n