Kodiak establishes driver-as-a-service agreement with Atlas

Kodiak Robotics Inc. today said it will outfit new Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. high-capacity trucks with its autonomy technology. Under the terms of the partnership, Kodiak will provide its technology via a driver-as-a-service licensing agreement. 

The companies have already completed their first driverless delivery in the Permian Basin of West Texas. During the 21-mile delivery, a Kodiak-equipped vehicle transported high-quality frac sand from an Atlas depot to a wellsite with no one inside the cab. 

In addition to the agreement, Atlas has also placed an order for Kodiak-equipped driverless trucks that will deliver frac sand across the Permian Basin’s existing infrastructure of private lease roads. Early next year, Atlas plans to launch commercial operations using its first two trucks equipped with the Kodiak Driver. 

“Deploying driverless trucks with Atlas marks the beginning of a new era for autonomous vehicles,” said Don Burnette, founder and CEO of Kodiak. “Our partnership with Atlas will make us the first autonomous semi-truck company to establish commercial driverless operations, and the first company to make autonomous trucking a real business. We look forward to scaling our trucking product not only in the Permian Basin, but also over the road.”​​

Founded in 2018 by a group of industry veterans, Kodiak designs systems for autonomous movement. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company completed its first commercial delivery in 2019 and has been working toward driverless deliveries since then.

Earlier this year, Kodiak introduced its sixth-generation, driverless-ready semi-truck. It designed its self-driving truck for scaled deployment and builds on five years of real-world testing. This testing included 5,000 loads carried over more than 2.5 million miles.

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Inside the driver-as-a-service agreement

Under driver-as-a-service licensing, Atlas will own the trucks, and Kodiak will provide its fully redundant, platform-agnostic hardware and software stack. The autonomy developer will also provide operational support services, including remote monitoring from its operations center in Lancaster, Texas. 

“Atlas’s partnership with Kodiak is another example of the unique culture of innovation that is pervasive inside our organization,” said John Turner, CEO of Atlas.

Kodiak said it designed its hardware and software stack for scalable driverless deployment. The company claimed that its technology provides 360º visibility, constant self-diagnosis, and contingencies for anything unexpected.

The system includes several components. First are SensorPads, which house cameras, lidars, and radars. Kodiak said it can easily integrate the sensors into any vehicle, giving the Kodiak Driver the tools it needs to see everything around it.

Next is Guardian, a high-integrity custom-designed safety computer that interacts with redundant braking and steering systems. This ensures that if a single point of failure is detected, the vehicle can always be brought to a safe stop. 

In addition, the system uses Kodiak Maps, which can be easily created automatically by the Kodiak Driver or from satellite imagery. The company said these maps contain everything needed to drive safely in any environment and are constantly being updated.

Atlas provides proving ground for Kodiak technology 

The hot and dry climate in the Permian Basin makes it one of the world’s most challenging environments for truck drivers. The Kodiak Driver, on the other hand, is equipped to handle driving through harsh conditions, including extreme heat and dust storms that affect visibility. 

“The Permian Basin’s expansive private-lease road network, which expands across the Delaware and Midland Basins, is an ideal environment in which to introduce autonomous trucking in North America,” said Chris Scholla, chief supply chain officer at Atlas. “With average traffic speeds of under 20 mph on these large swaths of private roads, we can safely deliver a more reliable last-mile solution to our customers in the Permian Basin. This truly represents a step-change in oilfield logistics.”

Kodiak said its technology needs to be able to navigate dirt roads, and it already has extensive dirt road driving experience from its work with the U.S. Department of Defense. The company has also partnered with Ryder to establish a truckport in Houston.