Autonomous Solutions
Oklahoma City is a strategically important addition to the wider network as it is located along major freight corridors connecting Texas with markets farther north. The city also provides access to key east-west routes. The new lane therefore represents more than just another expansion, as it strengthens the foundation for a broader autonomous freight network across the US Sun Belt.
On the new Oklahoma City Lane, V.A.S. and Aurora are extending autonomous transport beyond the traditional hub-to-hub model. Instead of requiring freight to be transferred between customer facilities and dedicated autonomous terminals, this new operation delivers freight directly to customer endpoints.
By running directly to customer endpoints, V.A.S. can now integrate autonomous transport into the customer’s existing freight operation, removing intermediate transfers and reducing the time, coordination, and cost associated with them.
Taking autonomous freight directly to the customer
Hub-to-hub operations have played an important role, and still do, in the development of autonomous freight. In this model, autonomous trucks travel the long stretches of highway between terminals, while human drivers handle the first and last legs between those terminals and the customer’s facilities.
Dedicated terminals create controlled environments where vehicles can be prepared, inspected, and launched by trained teams. They also ensure that autonomous trucks need only to navigate highways, which are more predictable than inner-city driving.
However, this model also introduces additional transport legs. A trailer must first be moved from the customer’s facility to the autonomous terminal. At the other end of the journey, it must be transferred from another terminal to its final destination. These handovers add time, coordination, and cost.
By delivering directly to customer endpoints, V.A.S. can remove these intermediate steps. Inspections, staging and vehicle preparation can instead be carried out at or near the customer’s facility, allowing the freight to move through the network with fewer interruptions. The result is a simpler logistics flow and a more efficient use of the vehicle, as time that would otherwise be spent transferring and staging trailers can be used to move freight.
For the customer, the autonomous transport solution should operate like any other dependable carrier, without requiring major changes to existing processes.
“Going end to end showcases the development of the technology and allows us to become an integral part of the customer’s ecosystem. Autonomous transport is no longer siloed at a terminal. It is delivering directly to the customer’s site.” – Garrett Boylan, V.A.S.
A partnership built for autonomous freight
V.A.S. and Aurora have worked together since 2021 to develop and commercialize autonomous freight solutions. The partnership brings together the purpose-built Volvo VNL Autonomous and the Aurora Driver, Aurora’s driving system.
V.A.S. is responsible for the overall design and production of the truck, including the redundant systems required for autonomous operation and the integration of the Aurora Driver hardware into the vehicle. Aurora leads the development of the autonomous driving system, which includes hardware – compute and sensors – and software – perception, motion planning, mapping, simulation and Verifiable AI – enabling the truck to operate autonomously. Aurora’s self-driving hardware is currently being integrated line-side with the Volvo VNL Autonomous at Volvo's manufacturing plant in Virginia ensuring OEM-grade safety and quality.
“Our incentives are aligned around the same goal, which is delivering for the customer. Success depends on having the technology, vehicle supply and customer demand aligned” – Kate Wagoner, Aurora
V.A.S. brings these capabilities together into a complete transport solution. This includes understanding the customer’s freight requirements, planning and operating the service, coordinating the necessary infrastructure, supporting vehicle uptime and managing the wider logistics flow. The companies work closely across technical, operational, commercial, and safety functions to ensure that the vehicle, autonomous driving system and transport service operate as one integrated solution.
Expanding the lane in record time
The Oklahoma City Lane was made operational in months after V.A.S. identified a strong use case with a customer that had suitable roundtrip freight and an interest in autonomous transport. V.A.S. and Aurora quickly developed an endpoint-to-endpoint solution around the customer’s existing operation. And although this was the companies’ first endpoint launch together, they were able to move quickly because much of the technical and operational foundation was already in place.
V.A.S. and Aurora had several years of collaboration behind them, including experience from previous commercial operations, existing technical integrations and established working relationships across their teams. Both companies also have teams and facilities in the Dallas-Fort Worth region that could support the launch.
Much of the main interstate route had already been mapped by Aurora. The remaining mapping work therefore focused primarily on the approaches from the highway to the customer endpoints.
V.A.S. first operated the route manually to understand the customer’s freight flows, facility procedures and practical operating requirements. This helped the team identify suitable access roads and establish how the service could fit into the customer’s existing operation. V.A.S. shared these findings with Aurora, which used them to support the mapping and preparation of the autonomous route.
From there, the companies worked together across technical, operational, and safety functions to validate the route and prepare the service for launch.
“Autonomy is not possible without people. The technology is strong, but without the people who worked to get this across the finish line, none of it would have been possible” – Garrett Boylan, V.A.S.
The short timeline was made possible by a clear customer need, an established partnership and the ability to build on technology, mapping, and operational experience that were already in place.
Safety at every stage
As with every V.A.S. and Aurora operation, safety guided the expansion of the Oklahoma City Lane from the outset. The service was introduced progressively, beginning with manual freight movements and adding autonomous operation only after the route, equipment, and procedures had been evaluated.
“Before we launch anything new, it has to be fully validated through our safety-case approval process” – Kate Wagoner, Aurora
Safety is a shared responsibility between Aurora and V.A.S. Aurora applies its safety-case approval process to the Aurora Driver, while they work together on the wider technical and operational evidence required to launch the transport solution. Both companies must be confident that the applicable safety requirements have been met before a new phase of autonomous operation is introduced.
V.A.S. and Aurora also work closely with public authorities as the operation develops. As part of the Oklahoma City launch, Aurora provided a vehicle for a law-enforcement familiarization event. This gave local officers an opportunity to see the technology and understand how they may encounter or interact with an autonomous truck.
This shows that safety is not a separate phase added at the end of development. It is built into how the operation is planned, introduced, and expanded.
A blueprint for future expansion
Every customer facility is different. Local roads, site layouts, equipment and operating procedures will continue to require individual assessment.
Therefore, V.A.S. and Aurora make sure to design the solution around the customer’s existing network, rather than asking the customer to adapt its entire operation to the needs of autonomous technology.
The Oklahoma City Lane nevertheless provides a foundation that V.A.S. and Aurora can reuse. Together they have gained new experience in introducing a customer endpoint, preparing the final route approaches, and coordinating responsibilities across three organizations.
As more of the highway network is mapped and more operational procedures are standardized, future projects can focus increasingly on the final connection to the customer. Currently, the trucks operate autonomously on public roads between the customer facilities, while movements inside the customer yards are handled manually. Extending autonomy into the yards as well would be the next step.
Autonomous freight is moving beyond demonstrating that trucks can travel between controlled terminals. It is beginning to show how the technology can become a practical, scalable, and integrated part of customers’ everyday logistics operations.
