Gatik Paves the Way for Safe Driverless Operations (‘Freight-Only’) at Scale with Industry-First Third-Party Safety Assessment Framework

The Autonomous Middle Mile Logistics Leader has Engaged Edge Case Research to Perform Comprehensive Development, Deployment and Safety Engineering Assessment, and TÜV SÜD for Third-Party Safety Assessment Services

Mountain View, California, 08 October 2024 – Gatik AI Inc., the leader in autonomous middle mile logistics, today announced an unprecedented commitment to safety by unveiling the scope of a comprehensive safety case assessment for its Freight-Only operations (deliveries without a human driver onboard) across North America. With this announcement, Gatik is committed to launching Freight-Only operations at scale once it satisfies the most rigorous evaluation ever performed on its autonomous driving system by independent third parties. This industry-first initiative underscores Gatik’s dedication to setting the highest standards possible for safety in autonomous trucking.

Central to this effort, Gatik has engaged two companies that, combined, provide the expert resourcing and independence necessary to scale safety. Edge Case Research, a leading global autonomy risk management provider, has already deployed dedicated resources and personnel to implement its DevSafeOps® process to support system development, testing, and safety engineering. Separately, TÜV SÜD, a globally recognized independent testing, inspection, and certification organization with extensive experience in autonomous system safety assurance, has been engaged to assess Gatik’s approach to safely deploying Freight-Only operations, and ultimately confirm that Gatik’s comprehensive Safety Case has fully conformed to the requirements, including UL4600.

Gatik’s Freight-Only operations at scale is a groundbreaking achievement in the AV industry, poised to revolutionize middle mile logistics with safe, reliable AI-driven autonomy. Undergoing an independent safety case assessment before establishing the nation’s first Freight-Only network is a critical exercise for an autonomous transportation company to undertake. Such an exhaustive process ensures that all key stakeholders, including customers, federal, state and local government, the first responder community and the public have confidence in the independently verified safety of Gatik’s technology and deployment practices.

“The assessment of our Safety Case goes beyond a basic review of safety practices and mission statements,” said Gautam Narang, Gatik’s CEO. “We are assessing our complete autonomous ecosystem to ensure safety in the real world, not just on paper. Our goal is to create safer roads for everyone. We’re taking the bold step of mandating an external assessment of our Safety Case to not only hold ourselves accountable but to help establish a standard for the entire industry. Now, we encourage our industry peers to adopt this framework.”

“While we applaud the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) leadership in establishing the Voluntary Safety Self-Assessment (VSSA) process, we at Gatik have chosen to go far beyond what a VSSA calls for with this incredibly comprehensive assessment,” said Dr. Adam Campbell, Gatik’s Head of Safety. “Our Safety Case approach is tangible, comprehensive, and leverages the benefits of Gatik’s B2B short haul use-case to safely scale across our freight networks. Arriving at this moment in our safety journey has taken 8 years because we move at the speed of safety and learn from our extensive experience in real-world deployments.”

The assessment will encompass over 700 identified safety portfolios and must be completed and closed before Gatik can achieve Freight-Only operations at scale. It will address key pillars of AV safety: organizational safety culture, engineering quality (functional, behavioral and operational safety of the self-driving system), cyber security, vehicle safety, and Safety Case conformity to UL4600.

“TÜV SÜD has developed its reputation of providing credible and independent safety assessment expertise for over two decades with more than 300 experts across the globe. Our collective experience has been brought to bear in developing comprehensive autonomous vehicle safety assessment programs. As Gatik embarks on its expansive safety journey, we are excited to provide assessment services as they prepare for scaled Freight-Only deployments,” said Dr. Fabian Schober, CEO of TÜV SÜD America.

“Edge Case Research is proud to partner with Gatik in their pursuit of the highest safety standards in autonomous trucking,” said Michael Wagner, CEO at Edge Case Research. “Their commitment to independent safety assessment sets a benchmark for the industry. We hope others in the space will follow suit in this transparent approach, and believe it will contribute to building public trust and ensuring the safe integration of autonomous vehicles on our roads.”

Gatik’s comprehensive Safety Case intends to allow traceability and transparency to all claims of safety that are made. By using Edge Case’s Open Autonomy Safety Case Framework as a starting point, Gatik is working to conform with the UL4600 standard, including all facets of the technology, operational and organizational factors in the safety case as well is emblematic of the breadth and depth of safety efforts being undertaken that go well beyond any requirement imposed by regulations.

As part of the company’s commitment to transparency across all aspects of its approach to safety, Gatik will be publicly sharing information on progress made towards completion of the Safety Case program prior to deployment of Freight-Only operations.