A stretch of Tennessee highway between Memphis and BlueOval City will host a pilot project evaluating autonomous freight technologies, and the state’s transportation department has selected a Washington, D.C.-based company to lead the way.
Cavnue LLC will plan, design and help test connected and autonomous vehicle technologies on a segment of Interstate 40 during the multi-year pilot, according to a March 27 press release.
Connected vehicles use radio signals to exchange information with other cars or infrastructure to “sense” potential hazards, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Autonomous vehicles can operate without driver input. CAVs combine both technologies.
Tennessee’s transportation department is looking to the pilot to steer the state’s long-term freight modernization planning. The department seeks to understand how new technology might reduce congestion, improve safety, increase efficiency and incident response and support freight management applications.
The pilot is expected to run through 2028.