ASI launches yard-truck pilots to test autonomous vs. manned ops
At a recent industry conference, Autonomous Solutions Incorporated said it is launching pilots that will run 12 to 18 months to benchmark autonomous yard trucks against manned operations. After the pilots, ASI said the main bottleneck will be truck availability and OEM lead times of 6 to 10 months. That puts the realistic window from decision to live deployment at 6 to 12 months.
ASI’s Mobius platform connects via API to a facility’s existing yard management system, holding a geolocated map of dock doors, parking stalls and fixed obstacles. It orchestrates move commands from the YMS, provides two-way status updates during each move and continuously scans the yard to reconcile trailer locations. Remote supervision lets a single operator oversee multiple trucks across several facilities from a central location, shifting yard drivers into technical oversight roles.
“It’s not really a technology problem at this point,” Douglas Taylor, general manager of the logistics division at Autonomous Solutions Incorporated said.
“Instead of a driver out, it’s a driver up,” Douglas Taylor, general manager of the logistics division at Autonomous Solutions Incorporated said.
Autonomous yard truck technology is commercially viable today, but widespread deployment is stalling because operators haven’t restructured their yards to support it. Yards were purpose-built for manual operation, with wide variation in yard management system adoption, inconsistent processes, and physical layout challenges that complicate autonomous deployment.
What we know
Pilot duration is 12 to 18 months
OEM lead times are 6 to 10 months
Decision-to-live deployment window is 6 to 12 months
Autonomous electric chassis unit costs roughly $100,000
Conventional cab-and-trailer combination costs $240,000