Commercializing AV/EV Distribution Yards: Automating Logistics w/ Tom Baroch of Outrider

AVL's Reimagine Mobility Podcast

Stephan is joined by Tom Baroch, Sr. Director of Global Partnerships at Outrider to discuss the commercializing of AV/EV distribution yards and automating logistics.

The distribution yard is a crucial link in the supply chain, serving as a transition point between warehouses and the open road for over 20 billion tons of freight annually. However, inefficiencies and unsafe manual tasks in these yards have led to bottlenecks in the supply chain. Over the past three years, these inefficiencies have led to diesel trucks idling in the yard, waiting for trucks or trailers, causing delays of up to four hours.

Yard trucks contribute significantly to the global carbon footprint, emitting 3.8 million tons of carbon dioxide. The future of yard operations is autonomous and electric, eliminating manual tasks for greater efficiency and safety. The private, confined space of yard operations is ideal for autonomy. Commercializing heavy-duty trucks with EV technology is a great place to start, reducing emissions and supporting the adoption of sustainable freight transportation. This aligns with forward-looking enterprises aiming to reduce emissions by having all-electric fleets in the next 10-20 years.

Automating a yard involves more than just an autonomous truck. Outrider's product is a comprehensive system that addresses operational challenges for customers. It includes a mission control dashboard allowing customers to control trucks and moves within their yards. The dashboard has an API that integrates with the customer's yard management system, directing trucks and trailers accordingly. They also handle deployment, infrastructure, and dock doors, making it a complete turnkey solution. Our focus on automation makes our product a winning solution.

The focus is on the system's overall throughput for the whole yard, not the speed of the trucks. The truck uses cameras and LiDARS to scan and geo-locate trailers, increasing efficiency continuously. The goal is to improve the total throughput of the yard, which can be operated with fewer yard trucks and with more accurate, safe, and efficient manual operations.

Tom Baroch is the Sr. Director of Global Partnerships at Outrider. He's responsible for designing, building and leading Outrider's supply chain and partnership ecosystem. Prior to Outrider, Tom spent over a decade developing and scaling supply chains that make mobility safer and cleaner at Bosch, Tesla and Waymo.

Outrider, the leader in autonomous yard operations for logistics hubs, helps large enterprises improve safety and increase efficiency. The only company exclusively focused on automating all aspects of yard operations, Outrider works with logistics-dependent enterprises to eliminate manual tasks that are hazardous and repetitive. Outrider’s mission is to drive the rapid adoption of sustainable freight transportation by deploying zero-emission systems. With its customers representing over 20 percent of all yard trucks operating in North America, Outrider is a private company backed by NEA, 8VC, Koch

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