Gatik and Loblaw Make History with First Fully Driverless Deployment in Canada

Launch of the First Fully Driverless Deployment in Canada

TORONTO, ON – October 5, 2022 – Gatik, the market leader in autonomous middle mile logistics, today announced the launch of its fully driverless commercial operations. It is partnering with Canada’s leading food and pharmacy retailer, Loblaw Companies Limited (TSX: L, “Loblaw”). Gatik is now moving select online grocery orders, for Loblaw’s PC Express service, with a fleet of multi-temperature autonomous box trucks.

Since January 2020, Loblaw and Gatik have transported more than 150,000 autonomous deliveries (with a safety driver on board), with a 100 percent safety record. Gatik’s fully driverless deployment represents the first time an autonomous trucking company has removed the safety driver from a daily delivery route in Canada. This unlocks the true advantages of autonomous delivery for Loblaw’s customers. Autonomous delivery enables Loblaw to operate more routes and make more frequent trips. It establishes a supply chain that is safer, more sustainable, and more resilient.

Safety Validation Behind the Fully Driverless Deployment in Canada

 Loblaw commissioned an extensive third-party safety review. Following this review, experts endorsed Gatik’s autonomous technology and approach for safe & secure operations on these routes. This review took place over a three-month period. It included an assessment of the end-to-end technology solution and evaluated development and deployment processes. In addition, it assessed standards and regulatory compliance while conducting risk assessment and evaluating control measures. Furthermore, it involved physical component, subsystem, and vehicle-level testing. The assessment included sending degraded/incorrect sensor data, GPS jamming/spoofing, incorrect acceleration with objects in front, etc. This paved the way for Gatik’s fleet to transport ambient, refrigerated, and frozen goods seven days a week. The fleet operates from a Loblaw distribution facility to five nearby retail locations in the Greater Toronto Area. It follows fixed, repetitive, and predictable routes.

Expanding Fully Driverless Fully Driverless Deployment in Canada and Beyond

“Working with Gatik, we’ve demonstrated that autonomous driving technology enables supply chain efficiency. As a result, we can move more orders more frequently for our customers,” said David Markwell, Chief Technology and Analytics Officer, Loblaw Companies Limited. “Moreover, being the first in Canada with this technology and deploying a fully driverless solution is exciting. It also illustrates our commitment to making grocery shopping better for customers.”

”

“This milestone marks the expansion of Gatik’s autonomous delivery service to Loblaw’s customers across multiple sites,” said Gautam Narang, CEO and co-founder, Gatik. “Canada is the latest market where we’ve launched our fully driverless service. This further validates that the tangible benefits of autonomous delivery are being realized first in B2B short-haul logistics. It’s a privilege to achieve this commercial and technical landmark with Canada’s largest retailer.”

Structured Autonomy Power Fully Driverless Deployment in Canada

Gatik’s approach to structured autonomy has enabled the company to achieve a 100% safety record across each of its deployment sites in Canada and the USA. Gatik focuses exclusively on facilitating frequent, point-to-point deliveries across the middle mile to maximize safety. It uses proprietary, commercial-grade autonomous technology that is purpose built for B2B short-haul logistics.Gatik constrains the operating environment in this way. This has allowed the company to safely achieve fully driverless operations in multiple markets. In 2021, Gatik became the first autonomous trucking company worldwide to remove the safety driver from a commercial delivery route on the middle mile, transporting goods for Walmart in Arkansas, USA.