If you're blasé about autonomous cars, don't throw self-driving trucks out with them. Both aim to automate activity on the same roads but the usefulness and likelihood of success for trucks outshines that of personal cars. The $720 billion US trucking business that employs 900,000 drivers (and would love to employ more) is at the heart of virtually everything in our economy; as Jimmy Hoffa said, "If you've got it, a truck brought it." Here are the main companies who may rewrite that bromide to "a truck brought it -- by itself." Otto's 2017 autonomous delivery of 52,000 cans of Budweiser captured headlines and started conversations.

What began as a radical concept design for a driverless truck, is now the first fully autonomous rig to receive permission from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to cruise on US public roads. Freight technology company Einride's Pod keeps the massive shipping container, but is without the front cab – leaving no room for a human operator. Instead, a so-called Remote Pod Operator, described as'a first of its kind role,' monitors the robotic truck from a different location. The Swedish company says its Pod runs entirely on electric power with a range of 124 miles on a single charge. The Remote Pod Operators will observe and support an Einride Pod that is operating in automated drive mode to ensure they run optimally and safely as they ship goods on behalf of Einride's customers,' the company says.

Swedish autonomous-truck startup Einride AB will test its self-driving freight vehicles on public roads in the U.S. in an operation with GE Appliances after getting approval from federal regulators. Einride plans to put one of its chunky electric vehicles, which have no cabs for drivers, on a one-mile stretch of road between two warehouses in Tennessee for GE Appliances, a subsidiary of home appliances company Haier. "This is a step-by-step approach, and this is a major step forward, in that it's actually now on public roads," said Robert Falck, chief executive of the six-year-old Stockholm-based company. Einride is joining a growing field of autonomous-truck startups in the race to get their technology on the road and bringing in revenue. Companies including San Diego-based TuSimple Holdings Inc., Pittsburgh-based Aurora Innovation Inc., and Waymo LLC, a division of Google parent Alphabet Inc., have announced tests of their driverless-truck technology in commercial operations carrying freight.

Did you miss a session at the Data Summit? This article was contributed by Andrey Bolshakov, founder and CEO of Evocargo. Autonomous vehicles are subject to far more stringent requirements than long-haul truck drivers and their vehicles. After all, there is no margin of error for robots. That is why self-driving cars are tested more thoroughly, even on public roads, and why the media and the public react so strongly when they fail.

Robert Falck used to work at a Russian trucking factory by day, and by night, he built a nightclub guest list startup. He also collects old books, and once guessed that Chinese author Gao Xingjian would win the Nobel Prize in literature. He grew up on a farm, but has degrees in finance, economics and mechanical engineering. No, this isn't a game of two truths and a lie -- indeed, these are snippets from the life of a serial entrepreneur who harbors a vendetta against the carbon emissions produced by the world's trucking industry. Falck, now the CEO and founder of Swedish autonomous freight company Einride, also worked as the director of manufacturing engineering assembly at Volvo GTO Powertrain.

SKF already uses automated guided vehicles (AGVs) inside its facilities but generally uses diesel trucks for exterior transport of materials. The company said it hoped the autonomous electric truck would lower carbon emissions. Einride's autonomous and electric Pod is being trialled by SKF for the movement of material between its plant and warehouse SKF and Einride are still seeking a permit from the Swedish government to also be able to operate the trucks on sections of the public road. Einride has already been testing driverless trucks on the public road with other partners. Volvo is holding a similar trial on Swedish public roads with its Vera driverless trucks.

Einride, a Swedish technology company that develops and provides freight transport solutions based on electric and autonomous vehicles, released today the results of a survey conducted with OnePoll on the state of the trucking industry. The survey examines the sentiments of American respondents around the intersection of artificial intelligence and industry-wide employment. According to Deloitte Insights, over 37 percent of organizations have reported deploying AI solutions – up 270 percent from four years ago. Analysts forecast global AI spending will more than double over the next three years, topping $79 billion by 2022. In conjunction with this growth, is the impact AI is having on employees.

Einride recently revealed its revamped autonomous delivery truck, which is more aerodynamic than the previous version. To give a glimpse of the Pod in action, the Einride team put the AV through its paces on the Top Gear track in Surrey, England. It's the first time an electric heavy transport AV has set a time on the circuit. The video perhaps doesn't have the glossy production that Top Gear fans are used to, but it provides a solid look at the Pod in motion. It also shows that on straights, the Pod can travel at over 80 km/h -- that's the typical speed limit for heavy goods vehicles in the European Union.

For the past four years, Swedish startup Einride has captured interest, investment and even a few customer contracts for its unusual-looking pods -- electric and autonomous vehicles that are designed to carry freight. But progress in developing, testing and validating autonomous vehicles -- particularly ones that don't even have space for a driver and rely on teleoperations -- is an expensive and time-consuming task. The company has made some progress with its T-Pod vehicles; four of them are on public roads today and even carry freight for customer Oatly, the Swedish food producer. Now, a year after raising $25 million, the company said it has another $10 million coming in from its existing investors. The announcement comes ahead of a new vehicle the Einride will unveil October 8.

Autonomous and semi-autonomous trucks promise to help an industry facing a shortage of drivers and increasing e-commerce demand, but they need to demonstrate efficiency for logistics adoption. Einride AB, which has been developing electric and autonomous trucks, today launched its Intelligent Freight Mobility Platform. The system is intended to help logistics fleet managers and drivers plan routes and loads, track shipments, and monitor energy efficiency. In February, Einride began recruiting the first remote operators for its trucks. The Stockholm-based startup also announced the beta of the Intelligent Freight Mobility Platform.