Gatik Achieves First Fully Driverless Commercial Delivery Route With Walmart
Autonomous trucking startup Gatik removes safety operators from two vehicles delivering goods for Walmart in Arkansas. This milestone marks the first commercial driverless route in the autonomous vehicle industry.
Autonomous vehicle startup Gatik reaches a major industry milestone by removing the safety operator from behind the wheel of two self-driving box trucks. These fully driverless vehicles operate on a commercial route for Walmart in Bentonville, Arkansas, marking the first time a company achieves this feat on a public road for regular deliveries.
Unlike competitors that target consumer rides, Gatik focuses exclusively on the middle mile of the supply chain. The startup uses its fleet of 25 autonomous trucks to shuttle groceries and goods from large distribution centers to retail locations, currently operating across Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, California, and Canada.
The two driverless trucks in Arkansas travel a 7.1-mile route between a Walmart fulfillment center and a neighborhood market seven days a week. While the vehicles operate without a driver, Gatik maintains strict safety measures by keeping an employee in the passenger seat, using a chase vehicle, and limiting operations to fair weather conditions. The company plans to scale this fully driverless model to its other markets at an increasingly faster pace.