Level 4 self-driving truck hauls hundreds of cases of food 120 miles, providing thousands of meals to raise awareness for rising food insecurity
TUCSON, Ariz. – November 13, 2018 – TuSimple, a global self-driving truck solutions company, is autonomously hauling a trailer full of donated food Friday, November 16 from a Fry’s Distribution Center in Phoenix to the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona in Tucson (3003 S Country Club Rd, Tucson, AZ 85713). At the end of the route at 11am there will be a press and community event of national and local leaders underscoring the growing problem of food insecurity in Southern Arizona, where 15.4% of residents are food insecure.
Nationwide, over 40 million people experience food insecurity. TuSimple’s partnership with the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona highlights the company’s use of technology and community to supercharge Feeding America’s mission to engage the country in the fight to end hunger. With the holidays fast approaching, TuSimple’s transport of chicken soup, tuna, granola bars and other healthy food items will provide important support to families in need.
Last year, the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona distributed more than 50 million pounds of produce and was named 2018 Member of the Year by Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization with a network of 200 food banks. The Community Food Bank works with growers who are unable to sell their produce, saving wholesome fruits and vegetables from being dumped in the Nogales landfill and instead getting that food to hungry children, seniors and families.
In addition to working with the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona to help end hunger in the state, TuSimple is also dedicated to strengthening the region’s technology center and fostering economic growth. Earlier this year, TuSimple announced plans for further expansion in Tucson. The company has been testing its Level 4 Class 8 autonomous trucks in the state of Arizona for over a year and recently began generating revenue hauling freight for commercial carriers in the state. To support its growing development program, TuSimple projects it will create 500 new jobs across a variety of fields ranging from engineering and autonomous truck driving to office management. The expansion has a projected total economic impact of $1.1 billion over the next five years.
TuSimple is on a mission to create the world’s safest self-driving semi-truck perception system. Its camera-centric system has a vision range of 1,000 meters—farther than any other perception system today—and can “see” 360 degrees around for a pixel-level interpretation of the visible environment, enabling the vehicle to locate itself within four inches of the road at all times, even during bad weather.
“We’re excited to see a self-driving truck packed with food donations arriving here in Tucson,” said Michael McDonald, CEO of the Community Food Bank. “This food will go a long way toward feeding hungry families in southern Arizona. We appreciate the generosity of TuSimple, especially at this time of year, when demand increases at the Community Food Bank.”
“We’re very pleased and privileged to support the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona’s efforts to combat hunger with our autonomous delivery of nutritious food to their distribution center today,” stated Chuck Price, VP of Product, TuSimple. “As many as 15 million people in the US had limited access to food in 2017 at some point and we are honored to help the Food Bank raise awareness for this growing issue.”
About TuSimple
Founded in 2015, TuSimple is developing a commercial-ready Level 4 (SAE) autonomous driving solutions for the logistics industry. In 2016, TuSimple broke 10 world records in autonomous driving and ranked No. 1 in KITTI and Cityscapes, the most influential public leaderboard in autonomous driving globally. For more information, please visit www.tusimple.ai,, follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
About the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona
Founded in 1976, the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona provides food for people in need, advocacy and nutrition education throughout southern Arizona including Cochise, Graham, Greenlee, Pima and Santa Cruz Counties. The Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona is a member of Feeding America. For more information visit www.communityfoodbank.org.
About Feeding America
Feeding America is the largest hunger-relief organization in the United States. Through a network of 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries and meal programs, they provide meals to more than 46 million people each year. Feeding America also supports programs that prevent food waste and improve food security among the people we serve; educates the public about the problem of hunger; and advocates for legislation that protects people from going hungry. Individuals, charities, businesses and government all have a role in ending hunger. Donate. Volunteer. Advocate. Educate. Together we can solve hunger. Visit www.feedingamerica.org, find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.