Can a ‘Smart Highway’ in Texas Pave the Way to Self-Driving?
The tech company Cavnue says that its sensor-equipped “autonomous freight corridor” outside of Austin will help usher in a future full of driverless trucks.
A portion of Texas State Highway 130 outside of Austin is set to become a “smart road” for autonomous trucks.
Photographer: Robert Daemmrich Photography Inc/Corbis NewsTexas State Highway 130 swings a wide arc to the east of Austin, traversing a patchwork of farmland that is being carved into housing subdivisions. Semi-trailer trucks hurtle alongside sedans at 85 miles an hour, the highest posted speed limit in the US. Along the eastern edge of SH 130 sprawls Tesla’s factory, churning out cars that the company wants to eventually be capable of self-driving.
Soon, the highway itself could help make that task easier. In 2023, the Texas Department of Transportation announced it would partner with a company called Cavnue to pilot the country’s first autonomous freight corridor on a stretch of SH 130 north of Austin. Cavnue intends to add sensors alongside the roadway to collect data on road conditions and, eventually, communicate with connected vehicles — cars and trucks that can “talk” to the highway as they speed down it.