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Another startup called Cargomatic tried to do this a few years ago. They raised $15MM but ended up shutting down last year due to logistical issues and not bein

Another startup called Cargomatic tried to do this a few years ago. They raised $15MM but ended up shutting down last year due to logistical issues and not being able to meaningful generate revenue. One of the founders even came from a family who were in the trucking business. I think it's a good case study for the various challenges any entrant in this sector will need to solve in order to "disrupt" the old way of doing business. http://www.businessinsider.com/cargomatic-uber-for-truckers-history-founders-investors-2016-8 http://www.businessinsider.com/cargomatic-uber-for-truckers-...

derefr 9y ago
> logistical issues This is a funny excuse for a company in the logistics business. You'd think they'd be good at at least that one thing.
- ithinkinstereo 9y ago
  Funny, indeed! They supposedly had employees entering stuff into spreadsheets by hand. I recall that this was due to there being so many edge-cases, which made it difficult to automate processes. The bigger problem I think with freight ever moving to self-driving is the legal liabilities involved. Consequences of even minor accidents are amplified with the size+mass involved. We might see a hybrid system with auto-pilot doing the majority of the driving similar to how we currently fly planes, but I can't imagine how that would markedly improve the economic margins.
  - ghaff 9y ago
    >We might see a hybrid system with auto-pilot doing the majority of the driving similar to how we currently fly planes, That seems a very plausible scenario. Improves safety (which is a big plus!) but doesn't really do much for the financials overall.
    - kevin_thibedeau 9y ago
      One manned cab in a convoy with one or more self-drivers following does make for more enticing financials. You still have someone on hand to deal with paperwork, tire inspections, breakdowns, etc. with lower labor costs overall.
      - ghaff 9y ago
        Potentially. But then you have to transfer drivers to the depots where they will pick up the other cabs in the convoy. The financials may work. We'll see. FWIW, driver cost seems to be about 1/3 the operational cost of trucking today. And about 21% of trucking is over 1,000 miles. [1] So that 21% is probably your target. [1] http://www.atri-online.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/ATRI-Operational-Costs-of-Trucking-2014-FINAL.pdf http://www.atri-online.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/ATRI-O...
      - ithinkinstereo 9y ago
        Driving in a convoy doesn't really solve the legal liability issue. How would the human driver presumably avoid accidents towards the back of the convoy for example? You'd have to have multiple drivers spaced out thru the convoy. The main issue is having good safety controls for all the various edge cases you might have out on the open road.

derefr 9y ago

> logistical issues This is a funny excuse for a company in the logistics business. You'd think they'd be good at at least that one thing.

ithinkinstereo 9y ago
Funny, indeed! They supposedly had employees entering stuff into spreadsheets by hand. I recall that this was due to there being so many edge-cases, which made it difficult to automate processes. The bigger problem I think with freight ever moving to self-driving is the legal liabilities involved. Consequences of even minor accidents are amplified with the size+mass involved. We might see a hybrid system with auto-pilot doing the majority of the driving similar to how we currently fly planes, but I can't imagine how that would markedly improve the economic margins.
- ghaff 9y ago
  >We might see a hybrid system with auto-pilot doing the majority of the driving similar to how we currently fly planes, That seems a very plausible scenario. Improves safety (which is a big plus!) but doesn't really do much for the financials overall.
  - kevin_thibedeau 9y ago
    One manned cab in a convoy with one or more self-drivers following does make for more enticing financials. You still have someone on hand to deal with paperwork, tire inspections, breakdowns, etc. with lower labor costs overall.
    - ghaff 9y ago
      Potentially. But then you have to transfer drivers to the depots where they will pick up the other cabs in the convoy. The financials may work. We'll see. FWIW, driver cost seems to be about 1/3 the operational cost of trucking today. And about 21% of trucking is over 1,000 miles. [1] So that 21% is probably your target. [1] http://www.atri-online.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/ATRI-Operational-Costs-of-Trucking-2014-FINAL.pdf http://www.atri-online.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/ATRI-O...
    - ithinkinstereo 9y ago
      Driving in a convoy doesn't really solve the legal liability issue. How would the human driver presumably avoid accidents towards the back of the convoy for example? You'd have to have multiple drivers spaced out thru the convoy. The main issue is having good safety controls for all the various edge cases you might have out on the open road.