Kodiak Testing Self-Driving F-150 Trucks for Military Use

<p><strong><span class&equals;"legendSpanClass"><span class&equals;"xn-location">MOUNTAIN VIEW<&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;strong> &&num;8212&semi; Kodiak Robotics&comma; Inc&period;&comma; a self-driving technology developer for the trucking and defense markets&comma; has unveiled its first autonomous test vehicle designed specifically for the U&period;S&period; Department of Defense &lpar;DoD&rpar;&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>This vehicle is a Ford F-150 upfitted with <span class&equals;"xn-location">Kodiak&&num;8217&semi;s<&sol;span> autonomous system&comma; the Kodiak Driver&comma; and contains both the autonomy hardware and software required to operate a military ground vehicle&period; The Kodiak Driver-equipped vehicle is designed to handle complex military environments&comma; diverse operational conditions&comma; and areas with degraded GPS&comma; as well as off-road variables like rocks&comma; dust&comma; mud&comma; and water&period; The Kodiak Driver also provides the Army the ability to remotely operate vehicles when necessary&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;<span class&equals;"xn-location">Kodiak&&num;8217&semi;s<&sol;span> new autonomous vehicle shows the maturity and portability of our autonomous system&comma; which we call the Kodiak Driver&comma;&&num;8221&semi; said <span class&equals;"xn-person">Don Burnette<&sol;span>&comma; Founder and CEO&comma; <span class&equals;"xn-location">Kodiak<&sol;span>&period; &&num;8220&semi;We have built a comprehensive autonomous system that can be integrated into any vehicle&comma; from a Class 8 truck&comma; to a pickup&comma; to a next-generation defense vehicle&period; Integrating <span class&equals;"xn-location">Kodiak&&num;8217&semi;s<&sol;span> technology into an off-road capable vehicle shows the potential for commercial and dual-use technology to revolutionize national security&comma; just as the Department of Defense is looking to ramp up its focus on autonomous technology&period;&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><span class&equals;"xn-location">Kodiak<&sol;span> demonstrated the portability of the Kodiak Driver by integrating it into a new vehicle in less than six months&period; This rapid development is possible due to the versatility of <span class&equals;"xn-location">Kodiak&&num;8217&semi;s<&sol;span> modular and vehicle-agnostic autonomous system&period; The vehicle runs the same software as <span class&equals;"xn-location">Kodiak&&num;8217&semi;s<&sol;span> autonomous long-haul trucks&comma; and features Kodiak DefensePods&comma; an adapted version of <span class&equals;"xn-location">Kodiak&&num;8217&semi;s<&sol;span> modular&comma; swappable <u>SensorPods<&sol;u>&comma; designed for defense applications&period; A technician can swap out a DefensePod in the field in 10 minutes or less&comma; with no specialized training required&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>In <span class&equals;"xn-chron">December 2022<&sol;span>&comma; <span class&equals;"xn-location">Kodiak<&sol;span> <u>announced<&sol;u> contract award with options up to <span class&equals;"xn-money">&dollar;50 Million<&sol;span> with the U&period;S&period; Department of Defense&comma; specifically Defense Innovation Unit in support of the U&period;S&period; Army to develop demonstrator prototype autonomous ground vehicles&period; As part of this contract&comma; <span class&equals;"xn-location">Kodiak<&sol;span> designed its vehicle in line with the Army&&num;8217&semi;s Product Manager Robotic Combat Vehicle program&&num;8217&semi;s unique Software Acquisition Pathways strategy&period; The Software Acquisition Pathways strategy allows the DoD to acquire hardware and software solutions separately&comma; to ensure that DoD gets the best possible combination of hardware and software for persistent modernization&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>As part of this program&comma; <span class&equals;"xn-location">Kodiak<&sol;span> will build and deliver two off-road-capable vehicles based on the Ford F-150 vehicle&period; <span class&equals;"xn-location">Kodiak<&sol;span> began testing the vehicles at a U&period;S&period; military base this <span class&equals;"xn-chron">November 2023<&sol;span>&period; Once the testing is successfully completed&comma; <span class&equals;"xn-location">Kodiak<&sol;span> plans to put its autonomous system into a purpose-built ground reconnaissance vehicle for military use&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Prior to testing the F-150 vehicles&comma; <span class&equals;"xn-location">Kodiak<&sol;span> used its semi-trucks to test its autonomous system in off-road environments&period; Testing the Kodiak Driver in off-road environments also helps <span class&equals;"xn-location">Kodiak<&sol;span> improve its on-road long-haul trucking technology&period; For example&comma; testing on off road terrain has helped <span class&equals;"xn-location">Kodiak<&sol;span> further harden its hardware platform while improving the Kodiak Driver&&num;8217&semi;s handling of dust&comma; rocks&comma; and other small obstacles&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;