Aurora’s autonomous trucks are now driving at night. Its next big challenge is rain.

Aurora Innovation is advancing its autonomous trucking operations in the U.S. Sunbelt region, focusing on routes between Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, and Fort Worth. As of mid-2024, the company has three self-driving trucks commercially operating on the Dallas-Houston route, logging over 20,000 driverless miles. These trucks include human observers who do not intervene in driving. Aurora has also established a terminal in Phoenix and is piloting a 15-hour autonomous route from Fort Worth to Phoenix, requiring trucks to navigate highway exits and surface streets. A key breakthrough enabling longer routes is the trucks’ validated ability to operate safely at night, surpassing human driver limits regulated by federal hours-of-service rules. Aurora credits its proprietary long-range lidar technology, capable of detecting objects over 450 meters away in the dark, for enabling nighttime operation. This lidar can identify hazards up to 11 seconds earlier than a human driver. The company has acquired two lidar startups to bolster this capability. The