FERNRIDE's "Human-Machine Collaboration Approach to Autonomous Driving" - CEO, Hendrik Kramer

Germany's FERNRIDE began life as a spin-off from the lab for teleoperation at the TU Munich, and started the research into this field in 2009. Now the startup's ambition is to become the global leader in autonomous trucking within the next five years. 

"While the hype around autonomous vehicles peaked between 2015 and 2020, we have always believed that you must apply a human-machine collaboration approach to autonomous driving," Hendrik Kramer, FERNRIDE's CEO, tells Auto Futures.

"Many laughed about this approach back then, but now it seems very obvious that human-assisted autonomy, which means a teleoperator can assist remotely when needed, might be the only path to commercializing and scaling a business within the autonomous vehicle industry."  

FERNRIDE offers automation solutions for yard trucking that's designed to increase productivity, promote sustainability, and improve worker safety. Its solutions combines hardware, software, connectivity, and process management.

"The company employs a human-assisted automation approach, which allows for remote takeovers of electric trucks when necessary. This ensures seamless integration and reliable operations for logistics operators. With over a decade of research and high-profile customers, including Volkswagen, HHLA, and DB Schenker, FERNRIDE uses cutting-edge technology to address major industry challenges, such as driver shortages and the negative environmental impact of logistics operations," explains Kramer.

FERNRIDE currently has over 120 employees working in offices located in Munich and Wolfsburg.

A Human In The Loop

The company chose the 'human-assisted' approach because it believes fully autonomous services will not be commercially viable for many years to come.

"We believe that a fully autonomous solution that is actually safe, provides the reliability that the industry needs and is economically viable for customers, is decades away. This is why we believe that with our human-assisted approach to autonomy we will become the global leader in autonomous trucking," says Kramer.

"Having a human in a loop allows us to immediately solve any edge cases or problems that modern day autonomous vehicles are not able to tackle on their own. This way we guarantee the required reliability of the live operations to our customers, and we can scale our solution much faster with them," he adds.

The logistics industry is facing a number of challenges, including a shortage of drivers in Europe and tighter margins. Teleoperation may be developing an offering which futureproofs the sector.

"The current shortage of 400,000 truck drivers in Europe alone is projected to increase to 2,000,000 truck drivers by 2026. Despite autonomous driving being the obvious solution to these challenges, many attempts to introduce autonomy fail."

"None of the current offerings provide an immediate, coherent, and economically reasonable solution. FERNRIDE’s human-assisted approach to autonomy addresses these industry challenges for its customers today, unlocking the benefits and reliable service of driverless operations from day one," says Kramer.

The Urge To Move Forward

In June, 2023, FERNRIDE announced it had raised $31 million in Series A funding. Its investors includes the German logistics giant DB Schenker. Together they have also launched a pilot project for highly automated and electric yard trucking in Tilburg, Netherlands.

"The latest funding will be used to scale FERNRIDE’s operations with existing and new customers globally and boost the technological development of their unique approach to human-assisted autonomy," says Kramer.

Finally, we asked him for this thoughts on what the logistics sector will look like by the end of the decade.

"The logistics industry is undergoing a very important and much needed transformation. Everybody knows that there is a strong need for solutions that solve the problems and unlock the benefits already today. FERNRIDE is transforming how the logistics industry is operating – thus, it is crucial for us to partner with some of the industry's leading players, that recognize the urge to move forward."

"Only together can we find solutions that actually work and can be scaled. In 2030, we believe the transformation towards more automated, and sustainable logistics is in full swing. This ensures that our supply chains, the backbone of global trade, are resilient, and everyone can access the goods they need when they need them," concludes Kramer.