Gatik Goes Driverless In Canada For Grocery Giant Loblaws

There's something missing in the autonomous trucks delivering goods to some Loblaws locations in Canada. For the first time since the self-driving trucks operated by California tech company Gatik started making deliveries for Canadian supermarket and pharmacy chain Loblaw Companies Limited in January 2020, its vehicles are completely driverless, the companies announced Wednesday.

The announcement marks the first time Gatik trucks are making deliveries with no human in the driver's seat in Canada, marking expansion of the Mountain View, Calif.-based company's driverless delivery operations.

“As of today Gatik is the first and only autonomous trucking company operating in a commercial capacity without anyone behind the steering wheel across multiple customers and multiple sites now,” said Gautam Narang, CEO and co-founder, Gatik in an interview with Forbes.com.

Gatik is now moving select online grocery orders for Loblaw’s PC Express service with a fleet of multi-temperature autonomous box trucks in Brampton, Ontario near Toronto. The approximately 13 mile route runs between Loblaws' micro fulfillment center to a retail location according to Narang.

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

Confidence to take this next step came from a combination of a clean record for the more than 150,000 deliveries since 2020 for Loblaws with a safety driver aboard, success with other partners, development of Gatik's autonomous technology purpose-built for commercial business-to-business middle-mile delivery trucks and its backup system that includes what the company calls a “remote supervisor” should human intervention be necessary.

Narang explains the remote supervisor only comes into play should the vehicle encounter an unusual situation such as fallen tree or construction zone. The truck's technology detects the issue, guiding the vehicle, if necessary, to what Narang describes as “graceful recovery behavior” such as a creeping stop or pulling off to a shoulder.

“This remote supervisor would then dial in, assess the situation and approve a high-level decision,” Narang said. “That high-level decision might be yes, it's OK for you to cross the double yellow line and be on your way. We never let the remote supervisor do actual driving. It's scary. It's unsafe.”

Narang pointed out the company also worked closely with the Ontario government to win the proper approvals to operate driverless over provincial roadways.

Going completely driverless for Loblaws marks further expansion for fast-growing Gatik which has been providing autonomous middle-mile service for major companies such as Walmart WMT , KBX and Georgia-Pacific, operating in markets in Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana boasting a 100% safety record.

Narang contends his company is seizing on a niche market that's a good fit for driverless commercial deliveries, explaining, “Middle-mile is that special use case that provides the perfect option when it comes to commercialization at scale. The reason I say that is the routes are shorter, up to 300 miles and we have the luxury to choose the best and the safest possible routes.”

He also points out Gatik's autonomous trucks are helping to alleviate the ongoing driver shortage just as demand for quick, timely deliveries greatly expanded.

Such expansion is sparking growth at Gatik as it broadens its client-base beyond groceries and retail to ecommerce and consumer packaged goods companies.

“The company is growing like crazy on all fronts,” said Narang. “Today we have just over 100 people. New team members, two, three on a weekly basis. I expect the team size to double in the next nine-12 months.”

Working with partners such as Cummins, Isuzu and Goodyear Gatik is trying to fulfill increasing orders for the driverless vehicles delivering its growing success.

“We're trying to get as many trucks as we can,” said Narang. “We have crazy demand.”