Skip to main content

Daimler Trucks acquires majority stake in Torc Robotics

Daimler Trucks has acquired a majority stake in Torc Robotics in a bid to commercialise highly automated trucks operating at SAE Level 4 on US roads. Roger Nielsen, CEO of Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA), says: “Torc’s Level 4 system has been shown to operate well for both urban and highway driving in rain, snow, fog, and sunshine.” Martin Daum, member of the board of management at Daimler, says the deal will combine the company’s truck hardware with Torc’s “agile software development”. Torc i
April 11, 2019 Read time: 2 mins

2069 Daimler Trucks has acquired a majority stake in Torc Robotics in a bid to commercialise highly automated trucks operating at 567 SAE Level 4 on US roads.

Roger Nielsen, CEO of Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA), says: “Torc’s Level 4 system has been shown to operate well for both urban and highway driving in rain, snow, fog, and sunshine.”

Martin Daum, member of the board of management at Daimler, says the deal will combine the company’s truck hardware with Torc’s “agile software development”.

Torc is expected to work closely with DTNA’s research and development team in Portland, Oregon, where DTNA focuses on further evolving automated driving technology and vehicle integration for heavy-duty trucks.

Torc will continue to develop its Asimov self-driving software and testing at its facility in Blacksburg, Virginia.

The company will retain its name, team, existing customers and facilities in Blacksburg. The closing of the deal is subject to approval from US authorities.

Related Content

  • June 29, 2018
    Avoiding the call of the wild
    Hitting an animal on a rural road can be fatal for all parties involved – but detecting and avoiding them requires clever technology. Andrew Williams carefully scans the horizon for details. Wildlife-vehicle collisions are an ever-present threat in rural areas around the world, and there is certainly nothing funny about suddenly finding an angry moose in your headlights on a sharp bend. A variety of detection and avoidance systems are currently in use or under development to help prevent your vehicle being
  • September 11, 2017
    GSSI partners with MIT Lincoln Laboratory to develop LGPR for autonomous vehicles
    US-based Geophysical Survey Systems (GSSI), manufacturer of ground penetrating radar (GPR) equipment, has entered into a licensing agreement with Massachusetts Institute of technology (MIT) Lincoln Laboratory to build and sell commercial prototypes of their localised ground penetrating radar (LGPR) system, which helps autonomous vehicles navigate by using subsurface geology. The partnership will make prototype systems available to the self-driving vehicle industry.
  • December 7, 2021
    VTTI sees future of truck ADS
    Although automated driving systems (ADS) for trucks promise increased safety, productivity, and efficiency, it is not clear how they should be integrated into fleet operations with conventional vehicles. Erin Mabry and Martin Walker, of VTTI, provide answers
  • August 7, 2018
    The ice man cometh
    Extreme meteorological events have captured global headlines in recent years. Adam Hill talks to Vaisala’s Mark DeVries about what that means for transportation companies trying to keep roads clear. Extreme meteorological events have captured global headlines in recent years. Adam Hill talks to Vaisala’s Mark DeVries about what that means for transportation companies trying to keep roads clear