Key Takeaways:
- Artificial intelligence and autonomous operations are constantly improving, with many companies making significant advancements in the field.
- Fleet safety is shifting from reactive to proactive, with new technologies promising to make roads safer.
- Transportation Management Systems (TMS) are using AI to help fleets, with data becoming a key component in the 21st century.
- The shift to autonomous vehicle (AV) fleets will require a shift from managing drivers to managing a network of computers.
- Self-driving trucks are no longer a futuristic concept, but a present reality, reshaping the landscape of fleet management.
- Dashcams are becoming more capable and accurate in detecting unsafe driving, with computer vision being a key application of machine learning.
Introduction to Artificial Intelligence and Autonomous Operations
Artificial intelligence and autonomous operations are constantly improving, and this year is proof of that. FleetOwner’s most-read technology pieces prominently feature artificial intelligence updates from telematics providers, such as Motive and Samsara, as well as autonomous freight updates from Kodiak, Torc Robotics, Volvo, and more. For instance, Volvo Trucks North America’s purpose-built Volvo VNL Autonomous tractors powered by Aurora Driver technology began hauling freight for DHL in Texas in December 2024. This partnership marks a significant milestone in the development of autonomous trucking, with the potential to revolutionize the way goods are transported.
The Evolution of Fleet Safety
Fleet safety’s digital evolution is driving a powerful transformation in transportation. While new technologies promise to make roads safer, the pace of change can be overwhelming. For safety-focused managers, the emerging challenge is determining which tools are best suited for their operations and preparing for the future of fleet safety. To address these contemporary challenges, FleetOwner reached out to several leading transportation technology providers to ask about the solutions fleets are underutilizing and to predict where commercial vehicle fleet safety is headed in the second half of this decade. For example, Motive’s use of computer vision to detect unsafe driving is a significant development in this area, with the potential to reduce collisions and improve road safety.
The Role of Transportation Management Systems
The TMS is the perfect platform between a fleet and its data. In the AI boom, that data is key. Here is how TMS providers are using AI to help fleets in 2025. Data has become overwhelmingly bountiful in the 21st century. Within the last decade, some of humanity’s smartest minds developed novel ways to utilize that data—not just through traditional software logic but with generalized inferences and predictive intelligence. Enter machine learning, the field of artificial intelligence that is maturing at an incredible pace. TMS providers are leveraging this technology to help fleets make better decisions and improve their operations.
The Shift to Autonomous Vehicle Fleets
The shift to AV fleets will require a shift from managing drivers to managing a network of computers. Self-driving trucks aren’t a business, they’re a tool—albeit a tool that will be “transformative” for the movement of freight. For fleets and the supply chain, the key will be understanding autonomous vehicles—the opportunities and challenges—and shaping operations strategically, or so a panel of entrepreneurs explained here at the recent WEX Venture Capital Summit: The Future of Fleet Investment. Indeed, the rise of AVs is no longer a futuristic concept but a present reality, reshaping the landscape of fleet management. Companies like Torc Robotics and Kodiak Robotics are already making significant strides in this area, with the potential to revolutionize the way goods are transported.
The Importance of Dashcams
Today’s dashcams can now do more with less: Automatic detection of unsafe driving is becoming more capable and accurate. Here is how one fleet technology provider uses computer vision to reduce collisions. One machine learning application is transforming how cameras can reinforce fleet safety: computer vision. “Even though billions of dollars have been poured into AI investments generally, computer vision is arguably the only segment that was providing real, tangible, measurable impacts in ROI,” Nihar Gupta, product leader for Motive, told FleetOwner. This technology has the potential to significantly improve road safety and reduce collisions.
Samsara’s New Product Announcements
"We’re making a big, big step forward today with the largest set of new product announcements we’ve ever made," Kiren Sekar, Samsara’s chief product officer, said during the conference keynote. While Samsara didn’t place prizes under each attendee’s seat as it did at last year’s conference (likely taking cues from Oprah), the trucking technology provider announced its “biggest set of new products ever” at the Samsara Beyond 2025 user conference here in sunny California. “I’ve been out in the field with you and your teams learning about how this new technology can have the biggest impact on your operations,” Kiren Sekar, Samsara chief product officer, said during the conference keynote. “I can see that the potential is immense … We’re making a big, big step forward today with the largest set of new product announcements we’ve ever made.”
Torc Robotics’ Autonomous Trucking Hub
Torc Robotics celebrating a ceremonial ribbon cutting during the official grand opening of the company’s first autonomous trucking hub in Fort Worth, Texas. CEO Peter Schmidt insists Torc Robotics is well ahead of its competition in the race to commercialize automated driving system technology for Class 8 trucks. The company intends to equip parent company Daimler Truck’s fifth-generation Freightliner Cascadia tractors with Level 4 ADS systems for sale in the U.S. market by 2027. “That may seem far away, but it really isn’t,” Schmidt told FleetOwner. This development has significant implications for the future of autonomous trucking and the potential for widespread adoption.
Fleet Professionals’ Preferences
Fleet professionals weighed customer service, telematics, and insurance savings as the most important factors in choosing technology providers in a 2025 survey. With the growth of AI and reliance on telematics for safety and compliance, technology is more important to fleets today than ever before; however, not all trucking technology is created equal. Samsara and Endeavor Business Intelligence (a division of FleetOwner’s parent company, EndeavorB2B) recently partnered on a study comparing fleet management technology providers. This study included a survey of over 500 fleet management professionals in the U.S., focusing on “the top challenges they face today, what they value most in technology, and how different fleet management technology providers compare.”
Kodiak Robotics’ Autonomous Trucking Milestone
Kodiak RoboTrucks operate in the Permian Basin, where Atlas Energy Solutions provides proppant fracking material for oil and natural gas extraction. After successfully moving 100 loads of frac sand in driverless Kodiak Robotics trucks on West Texas desert roads, Atlas Energy Solutions now owns two Kodiak RoboTrucks, marking an autonomous trucking milestone. The energy company plans to add more RoboTrucks in 2025 as it scales up autonomous operations in the Permian Basin. Kodiak leaders said this month this opens a new era for autonomous trucking that will lead to on-highway RoboTrucks. This development has significant implications for the future of autonomous trucking and the potential for widespread adoption.
The Decreasing Cost of Lidar Systems
Long-range lidar systems in passenger cars dropped from $75,000 in 2015 to as little as $500 in 2025. One company promises $300 by 2028, with eyes on trucking soon after. As trucks become more technologically advanced by the day, their prices grow. This is especially true as trucks incorporate more sensors to enhance their driver assistance and, eventually, automation. A key piece of hardware in that sensor revolution has plummeted dramatically in price, however: the lidar system. This decrease in cost has significant implications for the development of autonomous vehicles and the potential for widespread adoption.
FleetOwner’s Annual Features
Along with these articles, FleetOwner publishes several popular annual features that garner attention throughout the trucking and transportation industries. These include our annual looks at the largest commercial transportation systems in the U.S., the FleetOwner 500: For-Hire and FleetOwner 500: Private Fleets. Our annual profiles of women in the industry, Women in Transportation 2025, were published this summer. Each year, FleetOwner recognizes the transportation operations of private fleets with the FleetOwner Private Fleet of the Year award. This fall, we expanded and rebranded our annual New Models into the 2025 FleetOwner vehicle guide, our largest-ever look at the next generation of heavy-duty, medium-duty, light-duty, and alternative-powered trucks and vans. We put a bow on the year with the 2025 Trucking By the Numbers feature, an info-graphical look at the facts and figures that make up the trucking and transportation industries. To view what’s ahead for FleetOwner in the new year, please check out our 2026 Media Kit.
