Kodiak Robotics and IKEA Supply are preparing to launch fully driverless freight operations in Texas later this year, building on a four-year autonomous trucking partnership. IKEA will become Kodiak's launch customer for driverless freight, with trucks operating without a human safety driver in the cab.
Key takeaways
- Over the past four years of testing in Texas, Kodiak says it transported more than 1,300 loads of IKEA goods and accumulated more than 750,000 autonomous miles with a safety observer aboard.
- The initial driverless service covers a 219-mile section primarily along Interstate 45 between Kodiak facilities in the Houston and Dallas areas.
- The driverless leg forms part of an established 292-mile freight route connecting IKEA's distribution center in Baytown with its store in Frisco.
- Kodiak says the companies developed procedures covering vehicle dispatch, arrival scheduling, loading and unloading, predictive maintenance and fleet management.
- Kodiak is completing its highway safety case for driverless long-haul operations, intended to provide evidence that the Kodiak Driver system can operate without a person aboard within a defined operating area.
Kodiak says focusing autonomous technology on long-haul highway routes could allow human drivers to concentrate on local driving jobs while reducing the need for drivers to spend extended periods away from home. The company states the deployment is intended to become the foundation for wider driverless freight operations rather than a one-off demonstration, and that it will continue scaling driverless technology with IKEA and others after the launch.
Source: Robotics & Automation News · Published 2026-10-06T09:54:30 · “Kodiak and IKEA to launch driverless freight operations in Texas”