DALLAS — Aurora is an autonomous trucking company that has a terminal located in Palmer, Texas, just 30 minutes south of Dallas.

Aurora tests its autonomous technology, called the Aurora Driver, along the I-45 corridor between Dallas and Houston. Humans monitor the trucks, both behind the wheel and from afar at Aurora's operations center.

The company's goal is to remove the safety operators from behind the wheel by the end of 2024. This will enable Aurora Driver to become fully autonomous while still being monitored. 

“They can monitor the vehicle, and they can also make suggestions to the vehicle. But what they can’t do is drive the vehicle. The Aurora Driver is always in control of it,” Jon Hanebuth, Aurora trucking terminal senior director of logistics operations, said. 

Hanebuth says the sensor pods have a mix of LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), radar and cameras, which give Aurora Driver a 360-degree view, seeing ahead up to the length of four football fields. 

“That brings like a high image 3D to the Aurora Driver and really helps us see through kind of the — the debris and mess that can come around a vehicle. Especially in rainy conditions,” Hanebuth said.

The self-driving trucks have been tested on Texas roads for the past three years. 

In 2023, Aurora trucks autonomously hauled and delivered more than 11 million pounds of goods to freight customers, driving it closer to the goal of a fully autonomous fleet of tractor-trailers.