According to foreign media reports, Starsky Robotics has released an API called Hutch that can automatically access trucking capabilities without the need for a phone or paper log.
Autonomous driving, self-driving trucks, trucking, fleet management
The trucking industry is a large and decentralized system consisting of shippers, freight companies, brokers, and drivers. The system often suffers from chaos as transportation capacity needs exceed existing levels. Traditionally, large shippers have worked with freight brokers such as C.H. Robinson to manage transportation capacity. Startups including Convoy, Loadsmart, Transfix, and Uber Freight are working to develop applications that match truck drivers and shippers to transform the freight brokerage business in the trucking industry. At the same time, traditional trucking companies such as Schneider also set up their own brokerage companies.
Starsky believes it can solve the problem of self-driving trucks' transportation capabilities. However, instead of selling self-driving trucks like trucking companies such as Schneider or signing contracts with major freight forwarders, Starsky developed the Hutch API to bring its transportation capabilities to market.
The Hutch API allows freight brokers and major shippers to use Starsky trucking capacity without "backstage intervention". The API allows partner brokers and selected shippers to integrate directly with Starsky operations. Using the Hutch API, agents don't need to call Starsky to bid on trucks that use Starsky's autonomous driving or driver control. "It's simple, we sell the transportation capabilities of our self-driving trucks," said Stefan Seltz-Axmacher, co-founder and CEO of Starsky.
At present, most of the Starsky trucks are driven by humans and carry 40 cargoes a day. Most of the freight is done through the brokers Schneider Logistics and C.H. Robinson. The company hopes to use APIs to proxy most of its shipments, and eventually all shipments. Seltz-Axmacher believes that Hutch is crucial to Starsky's development. With Hutch, Starsky employees can focus on building robots that can drive safely, thereby reducing the pressure on the truck market. He also said, "I don't want to make a bunch of calls to brokers, negotiate for a long time, and sell our transportation capacity. I want to use the API to achieve this.
In addition, Hutch enables Starsky to control cargo locations. Starsky has been operating a traditional trucking business, employing human drivers to deliver goods to customers. Starsky also owns several self-driving trucks, driven and supported by a small number of test drivers.
Starsky can restrict APIs to make autonomous trucks drive on the safest, easiest, and legal routes. This means Starsky will miss hundreds or even thousands of transportation routes in the United States. But even with these restrictions, Starsky has plenty of opportunities. Seltz-Axmacher said, "We believe that there are some routes that are suitable for our current system operations, and the freight market size is more than $ 50 billion." Not long ago, the Hutch API integrated with the Loadsmart Automated Dispatch API to dispatch autonomous trucks. The Hutch API is also used internally to test its autonomous truck fleet more effectively.