The idea for remote-controlled robots that drive trucks came to Stefan Seltz-Axmacher on a camping trip in Northern California.

I was talking to my friend about cool robots we can build, and I just pitched the idea, he said.

Now the 27-year-old co-founder of Starsky Robotics is heading one of a handful of startups looking at upending the long-haul trucking industry.

The 15-employee company already has raised $3.75 million, but unlike other startups such as the Uber-owned Otto that seek to eschew truck drivers completely, San Francisco-based Starsky Robotics wants humans steering big rigs, just not from behind the wheel.

Starsky outfits trucks with an add-on system that uses computers, radar and software to allow the vehicle to run autonomously on the highway, where there is much more predictability than on the streets. Then, once the big rig exits on to city streets, the remotely controlled robots take over.

Theres a very essential role for truckers to play in the economy, he said. What we are doing now is greatly increasing their productivity, so they can drive more trucks.

A shortage of drivers has plagued the industry, with one 2015 study from the American Trucking Associations estimating the shortage could grow to 175,000 by 2024.

With Seltz-Axmachers system, truckers wont be sitting inside a truck, but near a screen.

The core problem we are solving is that it is hard to get human beings to spend a month at a time in the truck, he said.

Last month, the company equipped a Freightliner and hauled 5,000 pounds of freight from Orlando to Fort Lauderdale. For 120 miles the truck ran humanless and then an additional 20 miles via remote control.

We are using people for what people are really good at, and that is complex tasks, high-level understanding and dealing with new variables, he said. And we are using artificial intelligence for what it is best at: boring repetitive tasks, staying in the lane and managing speed relative to other vehicles.

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Human-less trucks are here, courtesy of Bay Area robotics firm - Long Beach Press Telegram