Outrider Powers Scaling Of Yard Autonomy With TÜV SÜD Certification

Forbes

10-07-2025

Outrider, a leader in autonomous yard operations for logistics hubs, has announced 'the industry's first safety system designed from the ground up for scalable, driverless movement of freight in mixed-traffic trailer yards.'
Autonomous yard trucks operate on pavement within logistics facilities, moving trailers and/or containers. This is a fast-growing niche in truck autonomy, sitting between over-the-road trucking and off-road truck operations such as mining.
Outrider notes that their customers represent over twenty percent of all yard trucks operating in North America. Outrider is backed by NEA, 8VC, Koch Disruptive Technologies, FM Capital, and other investors.
Outrider's proprietary functional safety approach was determined to align with the AV Conformity Framework requirements of TÜV SÜD, a globally recognized independent testing and certification organization. With this step complete, commissioning and deployment of the latest-generation driverless yard trucks will begin with select enterprise customers in the second half of 2025.
"Outrider pioneered the yard automation space with the goal of making autonomous yard operations inherently safer than present-day operations, and we have prioritized the safety system from day one," said Andrew Smith, Founder and CEO of Outrider. 'It is not hard to create a driverless demonstration. It is a major technical undertaking to design an 80,000-pound robot that operates amongst over-the-road trucks, delivery trucks, and warehouse personnel.'
Leveraging state-of-the-art artificial intelligence, the Outrider System handles the complex task of moving trailers in mixed-traffic logistics yards with a high degree of precision, versatility, and predictability. Recognizing that even the most advanced AI-driven systems can be susceptible to unexpected failures, Outrider has built a comprehensive, redundant safety system designed to mitigate hazards identified in its safety case. The combination of AI and safety systems allows for unsupervised, fully automated operations, according to the company.
Outrider's safety system includes fourteen safety mechanisms that address over 200,000 safety hazards specific to yard operations. The Outrider System utilizes safety mechanisms, including redundant hazard detection, fail-safe hardware redundancies, and real-time health monitoring, to detect anomalies in the environment, override unsafe behaviors, and bring the autonomous vehicle to a stop when necessary.
"Given the lack of standards for yard automation, Outrider developed the safety approach that will set the standard in the industry," said Vittorio Ziparo, CTO and Executive Vice President of Engineering at Outrider. 'We used established standards for functional safety in road vehicles outlined in ISO 26262 and safety in autonomous vehicles outlined in ISO 21448, as the starting point for a proprietary and comprehensive safety approach for autonomous yard operations.'
TÜV SÜD conducted a preliminary assessment of Outrider's functional safety approach using their AV Conformity Framework. This framework, based on current industry standards and best practices, evaluated essential elements such as Hazard Analysis and Risk Assessment, coverage and safety analysis, testing, and the safety case. Through a methodological showcase of the Functional Safety workflow, TÜV SÜD determined that Outrider's functional safety approach was aligned with these requirements.
Outrider continues to accrue the body of evidence to ensure the appropriate implementation and effectiveness of the approach. This assessment marks a key milestone, confirming that Outrider's approach is well-suited to meet the requirements of ISO 26262 and is aligned with current state-of-the-art practices. Additionally, the approach establishes a robust foundation for integrating with other safety domains, including SOTIF and cybersecurity.
The Outrider System runs on top of Outrider-approved autonomy hardware and electric yard truck platforms from vendors including NVIDIA, Orange EV, RH Sheppard, and Yaskawa. For safety-critical systems and components, partners work closely with Outrider's development team to review and approve Outrider's safety case for the use of their products in driverless operations.
"Through a successful development and validation program, as well as extensive review of Outrider's safety case, our engineering and safety teams approved the use of our commercial steering system in the Outrider System," said Simon Malsbury, Engineering Director at RH Sheppard, a leading supplier of steering systems for the trucking and transportation industry. 'Outrider is the first yard automation provider to receive RH Sheppard's approval to use its drive-by-wire steering system in autonomous operations in logistics yards.'
In addition to driverless operations with select customers in 2025, Outrider is taking orders for deployments in 2026 and 2027. The Outrider System is offered as a subscription service, including the autonomy stack, cloud-based management software, automated trailer inventory tracking, and 24/7 support. Additionally, the system is capable of connecting trailer brake and electric lines with no modifications to trailers using its TrailerConnect robotic arm, or by integrating with auto-coupling systems designed for captive trailer fleets.
Outrider sees the completion of the safety system as furthering their leadership in autonomous yard operations. Outrider's many industry firsts culminate in autonomous trailer movement, including hitching, backing, trailer brake line connection, yard inventory tracking, as well as integration with warehouse, yard, and transportation management systems. Outrider's approach is focused on setting a benchmark for trust, reliability, and safety standards in autonomous logistics, paving the way for broader industry adoption of automation in supply chain operations.
Wrap Up
Some of Outrider's claims in today's announcement might be disputed by others in the space. Similar to Outrider, competitors FERNRIDE, Forterra, and ISEE have noted capability in mixed-traffic trailer yards. FERNRIDE has recently announced a TÜV SÜD safety certification as well.
Since each safety evaluation is unique to the use case and technical implementation, it is difficult for outside observers to parse out the differences. But logistics forerunners adopting this tech are in the know and making deep-dive assessments, a process which drives competition and creates a 'safety pull' from the end-user which benefits the entire industry.
Logistics firms keep their heads down to get the job done and are unlikely to announce every tech upgrade. While the headlines that herald on-road autonomy continue to roll out, operators moving truck trailers and containers are already quietly adopting yard autonomy technology. Customers who have experienced successful trials in their facilities are placing orders.
Disclosure: Richard Bishop is an Advisor to and/or an equity holder in the following companies mentioned in this article: Forterra, Outrider.