Torc, a pioneer in commercializing self-driving class 8 trucks, today announced a new strategic collaboration with Edge Case (EC), frontier technologies and safety-critical systems experts. This next phase of collaboration will support Torc’s mission to fully commercialize Level 4 autonomous trucks for long-haul applications in the U.S., ensuring its driverless safety case aligns with the applicable AVSC Best Practices and guidance from the Open Autonomy Safety Case (OASC). This alignment will result in a more streamlined, well-structured, safety case that improves clarity, accelerates development, and enhances cross-functional review.
This initiative will focus on a series of independent assessments of Torc’s Driverless Safety Case Framework and Evidence Sufficiency Criteria, reinforcing Torc’s commitment to safety and independent validation in preparation for production and commercialization. Looking ahead, Edge Case will conduct an assessment of completed safety case evidence. These assessments will be conducted independently by Edge Case and will include detailed reports and collaborative review sessions with Torc’s safety, engineering and operations teams.
“Edge Case brings world-class expertise in building rigorous and comprehensive safety programs,” said Jerry Lopez, Senior Director of Safety Assurance at Torc. “Their leadership and experience across multiple autonomy segments make them an ideal partner as we move toward production readiness.”
This announcement comes on the heels of Torc’s recent appointment of Steve Kenner as Chief Safety Officer and the company’s ongoing prioritization of safety through integrated, cross-functional collaboration.
“This partnership with Torc represents a pivotal step forward in advancing autonomous trucking safety,” said Nathan Parker, Chief Executive Officer of Edge Case. “By leveraging our deep experience across autonomy domains, we’re helping ensure that Torc’s safety case is not only rigorous and transparent, but also production-ready for real-world deployment.”
With this collaboration, Torc is advancing toward its goal of launching fully driverless, commercial autonomous trucks for long-haul applications in the U.S. by 2027.
SOURCE: Torc
