The partnership between two of the world's leading technology companies will make the world's ports run cleaner, quieter, and more efficiently while solving an imminent problem the shipping industry has been scrambling to tackle.
According to Electrek, Westwell, one of the world's leading autonomous vehicle manufacturers, is joining forces with Hesai, a global leader in light detection and ranging (lidar), to manufacture electric autonomous trucks to be used in port operations worldwide.
Lidar technology uses laser light to measure distances and movement to within 5 millimeters of accuracy. This will enable the trucks to maneuver the tight corners and constantly changing surroundings of ports.
This partnership will solve two problems. The first and most obvious is that the vehicles being deployed will be electric, cutting down on carbon pollution, the main driver behind the overheating of the planet. The second problem facing the industry is the shortage of young people entering this workforce to operate the trucks.
Westwell trucks, material handlers, and forklifts equipped with Hesai lidar technology will soon be operated by more than 200 corporate clients in 20 countries.
The shipping industry is responsible for tens of billions of metric tons of carbon pollution being released into the atmosphere every year. While this development alone may only take a small chunk out of that, it's a small chunk that is one of many small ones that add up to a significant decrease in carbon pollution.
The shipping industry as a whole is slowly making the transition to clean energy, electric or otherwise. A tech company recently unveiled the world's first hydrogen-powered crane at the Port of Los Angeles. A hydrogen-powered cargo ship recently began making regular trips between Germany and the Netherlands on the Rhine River.
If this partnership between Westwell and Hesai proves successful, it could have wide-ranging implications on transportation going forward. Companies like Tesla have hit some speed bumps in their quest to manufacture vehicles with full self-driving capabilities. But large autonomous trucks and other machinery with lidar capabilities maneuvering their way around busy ports without incident could go a long way in gaining public trust in autonomous vehicles.
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