Automated truck developer Torc has partnered with manufacturing company Flex and artificial intelligence specialist Nvidia to develop a scalable physical AI compute system for autonomous trucks, the company announced March 18.

by Max MaxfieldOn the one hand, the overly enthusiastic predictions for fully autonomous automobiles have, thus far, fallen somewhat behind schedule (sad face). On the other hand, it now looks like we will see fully autonomous trucks barreling down our interstate highways circa 2027 (happy face).The idea of autonomous automobiles has been around for longer than most people might think. For example, the concept of self-driving cars was showcased at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York as part of General Motor’s “Futurama” exhibit. This vision included automated highways and predicted autonomous cars “within the next 20 years.”As an aside, when Matt Groening and David X. Cohen created their animated series Futurama in 1999, they borrowed the name from the GM World’s Fair exhibit to reflect their show’s themes of futuristic technology and societal evolution.In 2004, the U.S. Department of Defense held the first DARPA Grand Challenge, sparking predictions that fully autonomous vehicles would be widely available “within the next 10 to 20 years.” (Didn’t someone just say that? It’s like déjà vu all over again!)And in 2015, whilst his attentions were still focused on advancing technology in the form of electronic vehicles and spaceships, the Tony Stark of irrational tweets (a.k.a

Looking ahead to 2027, Torc plans to launch commercial autonomous trucking operations in Texas.