DiDi-backed KargoBot secures strategic investment from Horizon Robotics

Beijing (Gasgoo)- On December 11, DiDi Autonomous Driving-backed KargoBot autonomous trucking company announced a strategic investment from Horizon Robotics. 

Photo credit: KargoBot

This collaboration aims to propel technological and commercial advancement in high-performance autonomous driving domain controllers, accelerating the commercial deployment of KargoBot's intelligent convoy system in the long-haul logistics sector.

KargoBot has been focusing on L4 autonomous technology development and commercial operations in long-haul freight transport since February 2021. Presently, KargoBot conducts regular testing and operations in North China and Northwest regions, facilitating end-to-end intelligent convoy transport for diverse scenarios like short, medium, and long distances transportation, shipping over 2.5 million tonnes of bulk goods annually.

Since the strategic partnership was signed in April 2023, KargoBot and Horizon Robotics have collaborated on the development and validation of domain controllers aimed at unmanned driving, leveraging the Journey series of chips. This controller employs a multi-layered redundancy design to meet the demands of unmanned-driving technologies. 

Hardware-wise, the deployment of multiple independent processing units and diverse sensor inputs ensures stable system operation in the event of hardware failure. Software-wise, KargoBot developed the BEV fusion perception algorithm to address limitations in single-sensor visibility for large vehicles in freight scenarios, integrating information from various sensors like cameras, radar, and LiDAR.

Upon completion of this strategic investment, both entities aim to advance collaborative efforts in product R&D and mass production, creating domain controller solutions for autonomous trucks that combine safety, reliability, and high redundancy. This partnership seeks to propel commercial applications of high-level autonomous driving technologies in long-haul logistics while exploring innovative applications of autonomous driving technology, offering safer, smarter, and more efficient autonomous driving solutions to a broader customer base.