Torc Robotics

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Torc Robotics (Torc), an independent subsidiary of

Daimler Truck, is an American autonomous truck company[1] headquartered in Blacksburg, Virginia, with operations in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Austin, Texas; and Stuttgart, Germany. Torc is testing autonomous trucks in Virginia, New Mexico, and Texas and is taking a pure play approach to commercialization – focusing at first on one platform (Daimler Freightliner Cascadia) in one region (United States).[2]

Until becoming a subsidiary of Daimler, Torc produced unmanned and autonomous technology that retrofits to existing machinery and vehicles. Its custom products, software and automation kits have been used on vehicles in several industries,[3] including military, mining agriculture, and automotive over the last decade. Through 2014, 50 percent of Torc's revenue came from defense work and the rest from commercial customers.[4] Some of its end users include the United States Department of Defense,[5] the U.S. Marines,[6] Air Force Research Labs (AFRL),[7] Caterpillar,[8] and DCD Protected Mobility.[9]

History

Founding

In 2005, the company was founded by a group of Virginia Tech graduate students including Michael Fleming.[10]

Torc partnered with Virginia Tech to compete in the 2007 Urban Challenge,[4] hosted by the Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Teams were challenged to build a fully autonomous vehicle that could travel 60 miles of urban and off-road environments in less than six hours.

Torc's Ford Escape vehicle, named Odin, placed third out of 35 competing teams, winning the $500,000 prize.[11] The other top-2 finishers included Tartan Racing, of Carnegie Mellon University and General Motors, and the Stanford Racing Team.

In 2010, Torc partnered with a robotics team at Virginia Tech to develop a vehicle for the National Federation of the Blind's (NFB) Blind Driver Challenge.[12] The team received the National Instruments’ 2010 Application of the Year for the project.[13]

Using a Ford Escape, Torc implemented its ByWire drive-by-wire conversion modules, Safestop wireless emergency stop system, and PowerHub distribution modules on the vehicle.[14]

On January 29, 2011, a blind driver independently drove Torc's vehicle down the main straightaway, onto the road course at the

Daytona Speedway.[15]

In 2012, Torc researchers participated in the DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC) with Team ViGIR (Virginia-Germany Interdisciplinary Robotics Team).[16] The program challenged teams to develop robotic software and hardware capabilities to support first responders. The team made it to the finale.[17]


Defense and heavy equipment

Torc's technology is currently being used in military applications in various parts of the world. One such vehicle is GUSS (Ground Unmanned Support Surrogate) an autonomous vehicle used to carry equipment for the Marines.[18] Torc has also developed an advanced sensor fusion system for the Department of Defense that is used to increase high-speed obstacle detection, classification and prediction.[5]

In 2012, Torc's autonomous vehicle for Air Force Research Labs (AFRL) demonstrated its ability to perform expedient runway surveys, collect soil hardness measurements, provide terrain date and report hazards to flight.[7]

Torc developed a remote control version for hazardous mining areas.[19] The team replicated the cab of a 240-ton haul truck and developed a system to allow operators to teleoperate the haul truck from a safe distance away.

On-road autonomous vehicles

Torc participated in a successful five-vehicle platoon test in 2015 with the U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)’s Saxton Transportation Operations Laboratory.[20] The test was conducted on an inactive naval air base in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania.

In July, 2017, Torc was the first company that registered with

Washington state’s Autonomous Vehicle Pilot Program permit to perform a certified test with its self-driving car in Washington.[21]

On July 26, 2017, one of Torc's self-driving cars completed a cross country trip, with over 4,300 miles driven autonomously. The team completed the trip in Richmond, Virginia, where they were greeted by Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe.[22]

Torc announced two major partnerships in 2018. The company will work with Bordrin Motor Corporation to help the Chinese electric car manufacturer develop its line of self-driving vehicles.[23] Torc also announced a partnership with Transdev to deploy fully autonomous electric shuttles in France.[24]

Self-driving trucks

On March 29, 2019,

Daimler Trucks North America announced that it would acquire a majority stake in TORC Robotics for an undisclosed amount.[25]

In September, 2019, Torc and Daimler Truck announced they were testing Level 4 capable self-driving trucks on public roads in Virginia[26] and that Daimler Trucks North America was developing a chassis with redundant capabilities for self-driving trucks.[27] The following year, Torc opened a test center in Albuquerque, testing automated runs on New Mexico highways.[28] The routes later extended to Texas.

During 2021, Torc built a stable of technology partners, including Amazon Web Services (AWS) as its preferred cloud provider,[29] Luminar Technologies to explore lidar technologies,[30] and Applied Intuition,[31] for simulation technology.

In 2022, Torc opened an engineering office in Austin, Texas,[32] and a Technology and Development Center in Stuttgart,[33] Germany. That same year, the company announced that Penske[34] Truck Leasing would serve as the truck maintenance service provider for Torc’s autonomous test fleet.

In February of 2023, Torc has signed an agreement to acquire Montreal-based Algolux for its award-winning intellectual property and expertise in the areas of computer vision and machine learning.[35]

References

  1. ^ TORC Robotics to expand in Blacksburg with room for 20 more employees, The Roanoke Times, Dec 19, 2016
  2. ^ [1], The Informant, June 25, 2021
  3. ^ Blacksburg company involved in self-driving vehicles cruises into new home, The Roanoke Times, July 25, 2015
  4. ^ a b TORC Robotics in Blacksburg was a pioneer in the technology behind driverless cars, Virginia Business, October 30, 2014
  5. ^ a b TORC Robotics to develop long-range obstacle detection for autonomous vehicle navigation, Telematics Wire, January 18, 2012
  6. ^ Marine Corps futurists prototyping modular ground robot, Inside Defense, April 18, 2017
  7. ^ a b Autonomous Vehicle Developed for Surveying Assault-Zone Runways, Mars Daily, May 11, 2012
  8. ^ Remote control system for compact equipment, Pro Contractor Rentals
  9. ^ DCD Protected Mobility showcasing unmanned Husky route clearance vehicle, defenceWeb, Sep 15, 2016
  10. ^ Automatic, Virginia Tech Magazine, Spring 2012
  11. ^ Autonomous Vehicles Complete DARPA Urban Challenge, IEEE Spectrum, Nov 1, 2007
  12. ^ About the Blind Driver Challenge, National Federation of the Blind
  13. ^ Blind Driver Challenge project wins top awards at National Instruments' NI Week, Virginia Tech College of Engineering
  14. ^ Eyes on the Road: TORC Robotics Helps Blind Driver See, Allied Vision, May 18, 2015
  15. ^ Blind Man Drives High-Tech Car at Daytona Speedway, Fox News Auto, Jan 31, 2011
  16. ^ DARPA Selects Team ViGIR Led by TORC for Robotics Challenge, Unmanned Systems Technology, Oct 22, 2012
  17. ^ 2 College of Engineering robotics teams prep for DARPA Robotics Challenge finale, Virginia Tech, June 4, 2015
  18. ^ Intelligent Robots Set to Change Combat Landscape, Military.com, Aug 10, 2012
  19. ^ TORC delivers remote control solutions for hazardous mining areas, mining-technology.com, Apr 2, 2014
  20. ^ Saxton lab Demonstrates Multivehicle Platooning with CAAC, U.S. Department of Transportation, Fall 2015
  21. ^ Self-driving car arrives in Seattle after 2,500-mile autonomous cross-country trip, GeekWire, July 14, 2017
  22. ^ Car drove 4,300-plus miles autonomously on cross-country trip, ending at Virginia's Executive Mansion, Richmond Times Dispatch, July 26, 2017
  23. ^ "Torc Robotics to help build self-driving vehicles for Chinese automaker". Roanoke Times. 4 January 2019. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
  24. ^ "Torc Robotics and Transdev are launching autonomous shuttles to deliver people to public transit". TechCrunch. 7 January 2019. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
  25. ^ Daimler Trucks agrees to acquire majority stake in Torc Robotics to create technology powerhouse for automated trucks,Daimler Trucks North America, Retrieved March 29, 2019
  26. ^ Self-driving trucks are being tested on public roads in Virginia, CNBC, Sep 10, 2019
  27. ^ Daimler and Torc Robotics begin testing automated trucks on public roads in Virginia, Robotics and Automation News, Sep 19, 2019
  28. ^ Daimler Trucks tests self-driving vehicles in US Southwest, Washington Post, Sep 3, 2020
  29. ^ Torc Robotics to use AWS cloud for self-driving truck fleet, SupplyChain, Feb 17, 2021
  30. ^ Daimler Trucks and Torc partner with Luminar on automated trucking, Fleet Owner, Nov 3, 2020
  31. ^ Who is leading the self-driving truck race?, iNews, June 7, 2022
  32. ^ Self-driving truck company Torc Robotics picks Austin for tech hub, Austin American-Statesman, Jan 7, 2022
  33. ^ Global News Roundup: Torc to Open Tech Development Center, Heavy Duty Trucking, May 18, 2022
  34. ^ Torc taps Penske to service autonomous trucking test fleet, Fleet Owner, May 9, 2022
  35. ^ Richard Bishop (February 28, 2023). "From Photons To Behavior: Torc Robotics Fortifies AI-Based Driving Capability". Retrieved February 28, 2023.
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