GREEN BAY, Wis. — Schneider announced last week that company president and CEO Mark Rourke will join TuSimple’s newly established Executive Advisory Board. TuSimple is a global self-driving technology company developing a commercial-ready Level 4 (SAE) fully autonomous driving solution for long-haul heavy-duty trucks.
“The Executive Advisory Board brings together an impressive mix of industry and regulatory leaders from the freight logistics and transportation fields,” said Cheng Lu, CEO of TuSimple. “Our advisors will play a critical role in shaping our go to market strategy and correlating public policy efforts so we can safely and reliably introduce self-driving trucks at scale.”
In addition to providing leadership and a test fleet to shape the future of autonomous trucking, Schneider will have a nominal investment stake in TuSimple, allowing shippers to benefit from Schneider’s growing involvement in this space.
“Schneider always has been — and will be — in the lead at understanding the potential of new technology that can change or impact our industry,” Rourke said. “TuSimple is a leader in developing autonomous technology for the long-haul trucking industry. There will always be a need for well trained and safe professional drivers, and it’s important that we play a key role in safely developing and testing this technology to be the most prepared.”
The carrier has worked to test, develop and deploy new truck technologies for decades, and continued investment in emerging technology that makes its associates safer and improves the overall delivery experience is vital to Schneider’s ongoing success, according to a company statement. In recent years, Schneider has invested in advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) such as collision mitigation and adaptive cruise control, which are the foundation of autonomous vehicle technology.
“While fully autonomous vehicles still have development and regulatory work ahead, we are encouraged by the advances in autonomous technology such as braking and other systems that are helping drivers make our roads safer,” Rourke said. “Schneider will work to test and understand over the coming years how this technology will complement our professional over-the-road driver associates and provide new, innovative opportunities for shippers.”
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