Einride deploys first full time, daily autonomous operations in partnership with GE Appliances
11.13.2023
- Deployment of an unmanned, purpose built autonomous vehicle showcasing business case for commercializing autonomous
- The Einride autonomous vehicle is now transporting goods daily in Selmer, TN from GE Appliances’ factory to its warehouse
November 13, 2023 – Einride, a freight mobility company that provides digital, electric and autonomous technology, announced today the deployment of full time operations with its autonomous vehicle. The operations, in partnership with GE Appliances, a Haier company, mark an important step in the integration of autonomous transportation supporting full time commercial flows.
The daily transport of finished goods takes place between GE Appliances’ manufacturing facility and warehouse in Selmer, TN, Monday through Thursday, enabling up to seven shuttles a day, producing zero tailpipe emissions through the autonomous operation and showcasing how Einride’s freight capacity as a service (FaaS) model can be enabled with autonomous vehicles. This long-term deployment follows previous pilots done in collaboration with GE Appliances, first in a gated environment at the company’s Appliance Park headquarters in 2021, followed by the first public road pilot in the US for a purpose built autonomous, electric truck without a driver on board in Selmer in 2022.
“We are very proud to partner with GEA and be able to lead the industry in providing autonomous technology and deploying it in the strongest commercial use case today,” said Henrik Green, General Manager, Autonomous Technologies at Einride. “We look forward to continuing this work to establish autonomous’ key role in transportation, both with GEA and other partners across markets.”
The Einride autonomous vehicle is part of a larger interoperability project in Selmer to create an automated logistics flow that improves employee ergonomics and safety around the loading docks and increases efficiency. Additional GE Appliances partners include TaskWatch and Slip robotics. TaskWatch’s AI cameras trigger a control board to raise and lower the dock doors, dock plate, lock the Einride autonomous vehicle into place and notify the Slip robot that the autonomous vehicle is ready for loading. The Slip then autonomously loads and unloads the vehicle, reducing loading times by 80%. Einride’s connectivity partner Ericsson provided the private network to ensure reliable communication between the vehicle and the remote operator on site. Tiffany Heathcott, the first remote operator hired by Einride, is onsite to monitor the vehicle.
“Our partnership with Einride in Selmer reflects our evolved approach to robotics and automation technology,” says Harry Chase, Senior Director of Central Materials at GE Appliances. “We are moving from implementing one-off solutions addressing various challenges to creating interoperability among systems that can build consistency and streamline processes in our factories and throughout our supply chain. This implementation in Selmer is helping us reduce emissions, allowing our employees to focus on high value tasks, reducing traffic in congested areas to create a safer work environment, and eliminating some of the most challenging ergonomic tasks like climbing on and off a forklift and hooking and unhooking trailers. We believe robotics and automation technology should work with and for people to improve their jobs.”
About Einride
Einride designs, develops and deploys freight mobility technologies to accelerate the transition to sustainable transportation. Its platform includes connected electric and autonomous heavy-duty vehicles, charging infrastructure and an intelligent freight operating system. Founded in 2016, Einride became the world’s first company to operate an autonomous, electric vehicle on a public road in 2019. Today, Einride operates one of the largest fleets of heavy-duty electric trucks servicing Global Fortune 500 companies across eight markets. For more information, please visit einride.tech.
Einride’s offering includes an ecosystem of products coming together to unlock efficiency. These products include Einride Saga, the Einride autonomous vehicle (Gen 2), the Einride connected electric truck and Einride Charging (including chargers and Einride Smartcharger Stations).
About GE Appliances
At GE Appliances we make the world a better place, and our team is committed to leading in the communities where we live and work. Today, our appliances are in 50 percent of all U.S. homes, and our business is committed to serving every family in the country. We are a purpose-rooted and passion-driven organization that believes there is always a better way. We manufacture and sell products under the Monogram®, Café™, GE Profile™, GE®, Haier, and Hotpoint brands. Our products include refrigerators, freezers, cooking products, dishwashers, washers, dryers, air conditioners and water filtration systems. For more information on our company, brands, and corporate citizenship, visit www.geappliancesco.com.
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