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Tyson Foods has an AI driven truck in Northwest Arkansas
Ka'Tani Gouch
Reporter
Tyson Foods has an AI driven truck in Northwest Arkansas
LIVE WITH MORE ON HOW NEW AI TECHNOLOGY IS IMPACTING OUR COMMUNITY. THIS IS WHERE YOU WOULD LIKELY SEE THE DRIVERLESS TRUCK ALONG HIGHWAY 71 BETWEEN SPRINGDALE AND ROGERS. I SPOKE TO A RESEARCH PROFESSOR FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS WHO WONDERS JUST HOW MUCH OF AN IMPACT NEW AI TECHNOLOGY WILL HAVE ON OUR ECONOMY "To me, it's sort of it's interesting. Just in the past years, they would chat about what jobs all of a sudden look like. You know, they're the most the first things to be automated." WITH TYSON JOINING COMPANIES LIKE WALMART IN THE DRIVERLESS TRUCKING INDUSTRY...THIS PROFESSOR WANTS TO KNOW NOT ONLY THE JOBS THAT ARE TAKEN AWAY BUT ALSO THE ONES CREATED <> "it's harder to think about the jobs that are created to support this technology. And are those jobs that truck drivers can substitute into? You know, can you go from a long haul truck driver to support specialist for a long haul trucking operations?" <> "so we take the driver out of the truck and that's a big expense, you know, for for shippers or for trucking companies. Right. But then what do you have to have to replace? Right. Is it do you have to have more logistics, maintenance specialist?" BALTHROP SAYS THAT HE UNDERSTANDS THE ECONOMIC BENEFIT FROM AI CONTROLLED TRUCKS "You know, on the other side is that you have, well, how can consumers benefit? And if it lowers the cost, increases trucking capacity the way a lot of people think that it might, you know, then you see the cost of goods kind of economy wide going down. And so consumers benefit from that." HOWEVER HE BELIEVES THERE ARE STRONG BENEFITS TO HAVING HUMAN DRIVERS "one of the things that's nice about the trucking industry are nice might be the wrong way to put it, but you have the truck and the vehicle kind of paired together, Right. So there's always a driver, right? They can do things to the truck, you know, with autonomous trucks. Is it all of a sudden you don't have that person on the site anymore? And so what does that look like?" AS OF RIGHT NOW TYSON ONLY HAS ONE AI CONTROLLED TRUCK OUT ON THE ROAD BUT THEY TOLD IN T
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Tyson Foods has an AI driven truck in Northwest Arkansas
Ka'Tani Gouch
Reporter
Tyson Foods is deploying driverless trucks in Northwest Arkansas to transport from a Springdale plant to storage facilities in Rogers. The route would include the AI driven trucks to take Highway 71.The company said the route would be between 10 and 15 miles and is seen as a ways to cut costs."That repurpose driver that we're now able to go do an additional 700 loads across a year." Patrick Simmons said. "That saves us almost another half a million dollars a year just by doing that."Simmons said this decision is a proactive step towards a driver shortage. He also said that truck drivers prefer longer routes. "I've worked with truck drivers for over 20 years. Typically they don't like the short average distance loads. They like to get out and run the highways 300, 400 500 miles at a time."Tyson joining companies like Walmart in the driverless trucking industry. Andrew Balthrop a Research Associate with the University of Arkansas says he is interested in knowing the impact on jobs."It's harder to think about the jobs that are created to support this technology. And are those jobs that truck drivers can substitute into." Balthrop said. "Can you go from a long haul truck driver to support specialist for a long haul trucking operations?"Simmons said the company Tyson is partnering with has zero accident record.
SPRINGDALE, Ark. —

Tyson Foods is deploying driverless trucks in Northwest Arkansas to transport from a Springdale plant to storage facilities in Rogers. The route would include the AI driven trucks to take Highway 71.

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The company said the route would be between 10 and 15 miles and is seen as a ways to cut costs.

"That repurpose driver that we're now able to go do an additional 700 loads across a year." Patrick Simmons said. "That saves us almost another half a million dollars a year just by doing that."

Simmons said this decision is a proactive step towards a driver shortage. He also said that truck drivers prefer longer routes.

"I've worked with truck drivers for over 20 years. Typically they don't like the short average distance loads. They like to get out and run the highways 300, 400 500 miles at a time."

Tyson joining companies like Walmart in the driverless trucking industry. Andrew Balthrop a Research Associate with the University of Arkansas says he is interested in knowing the impact on jobs.

"It's harder to think about the jobs that are created to support this technology. And are those jobs that truck drivers can substitute into." Balthrop said. "Can you go from a long haul truck driver to support specialist for a long haul trucking operations?"

Simmons said the company Tyson is partnering with has zero accident record.