Tethered Platooning
Safe, simple, streamlined self-driving. Tethered Platooning offers a unique middle ground between today's trucking operations and the fully autonomous operations of the future.
Unbeatable Cost
Full self-driving requires significant investment in technology development, equipment installation, and continued support. This inflates costs for the end user.
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For that reason, Tether has taken different approach. The Tether employs affordable angle and length sensors read by reliable automotive microcontrollers for sensing. The control algorithm is mathematically derived and relatively simple, slashing extensive costs associated with building AI models. Most importantly, the Tether integrates with your existing fleet.
Tether offers similar functionality to full self-driving at a fraction of the price for an expedited return on investment.​
Safety First Design
Vehicles are linked with a robust Tether that protects critical sensing components and prevents vehicle runaway in the worst-case scenarios. Inter-vehicle communication happens over a wired connection that increases reliability and security against cyber attack.
Human-in-the-Loop Autonomy
One manned vehicle serves as the leader for all of the self-driving followers behind it. Every vehicle pulls, stops, and steers its own weight along the path driven by the leader. The experienced driver remains in control at all times and is present to handle unexpected occurrences like breakdowns.
Near Seamless Vehicle Integration
The leading manned vehicle can be any existing vehicle, requiring no modifications other than the addition of a touchscreen. For the following vehicles, Tethered Platooning requires minimal modifications to a regular vehicle, allowing it to be driven normally as needed. Only steering, brake, and throttle actuation and a connection to the vehicle diagnostic port are necessary.
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The Tether system can integrate with existing vehicles already converted for autonomy, or Tether can provide actuator installation for vehicle conversion.
Maximum Flexibility
In any sector, driver demand can fluctuate significantly. Tethered Platooning offers a solution flexible enough to keep up with real-world environments and applications. This includes operating heterogeneous platoons that may or may not involve trailers.