TuSimple and ZF Partner to develop technology for mass produced Autonomous Trucks

TuSimple and ZF will co-develop production-quality technologies including cameras, LiDAR, radar, steering and ZF's automotive-grade central computer ZF ProAI. Concurrently, ZF will support TuSimple's pre-production driverless autonomous system, and will ultimately serve as the default supplier for their production-ready system for commercialised vehicles.

“A partnership with world-class supplier ZF is an important milestone for our company as we prepare to bring autonomous-ready trucks to market,” said Chuck Price, Chief Product Officer, TuSimple. “Working side-by-side with ZF to refine and integrate our production-ready technology has allowed us to optimise our hardware stack and focus on scaling these technologies to make it possible for autonomous ready trucks to be mass produced.”

As part of the partnership, ZF will contribute engineering support to validate and integrate TuSimple's autonomous system into the vehicle.

“Our integrated solutions enable the next generation of mobility, and we are thrilled to partner with TuSimple, a leader in autonomous trucking,” said Torsten Gollewski, Executive Vice President Autonomous Mobility Systems. “A key success factor for virtual driver software is to ensure the system is based on an automotive grade level, including component development and production. The combination of ZF automotive system competencies and TuSimple's virtual driver software will create the first commercial-ready automotive grade autonomous truck technology platform.”

TuSimple aims to transform the $800 billion US trucking industry by enhancing safety, increasing efficiency and significantly reducing operating costs. The company operates a fleet of more than 40 autonomous trucks, has 18 contracted customers and makes 20 autonomous trips between Arizona and Texas for companies like UPS every week. The company plans to start driverless operations in 2021.