Germany-based remote driving technology company Vay has joined forces with U.S. autonomous vehicle developer Kodiak Robotics in a strategic partnership aimed at enhancing the capabilities of Kodiak’s proprietary Assisted Autonomy system. This collaboration brings together Vay’s cutting-edge teleoperation technology and Kodiak’s robust autonomous driving platform to expand the operational scope and safety of driverless freight trucks.
Kodiak’s Assisted Autonomy is a core feature of the Kodiak Driver, the company’s autonomous truck driving system. The feature allows human operators to remotely intervene and control trucks in specific low-speed, complex, or ambiguous situations that still require human judgment—such as navigating busy loading docks or interpreting hand signals from law enforcement officers. These are scenarios where full autonomy alone might struggle without some level of human oversight.
As part of the partnership, Kodiak has installed Vay Stations, along with supporting software tools that ensure low-latency, high-reliability communication between the remote operator and the autonomous truck. These stations empower trained teleoperators—known as “teledrivers”—to seamlessly step in when the Kodiak Driver encounters scenarios that benefit from human input. This setup allows Kodiak’s trucks to handle a wider range of real-world situations while continuing to operate without a driver physically present in the cab.
Currently, Kodiak is leveraging Vay’s remote driving technology in regions such as West Texas and Eastern New Mexico, where its driverless trucks are already in operation. Vay’s system supports the Kodiak Driver by enabling teleoperation as needed, ensuring smooth transitions in complex environments and enhancing the trucks’ ability to safely complete end-to-end deliveries. One important use case includes “launching and landing”—industry terms for maneuvering trucks in and out of customer depots and yards, often considered one of the more challenging parts of an autonomous delivery.
Don Burnette, founder and CEO of Kodiak, emphasized the importance of human support in fully autonomous systems. “Regardless of how advanced an autonomous system becomes, there will always be edge cases that benefit from human assistance. Whether it’s interpreting unexpected hand signals or handling unique on-road interactions, Assisted Autonomy ensures we can respond appropriately,” said Burnette. “Rather than building this capability from scratch, we chose to collaborate with Vay, whom we see as the leader in remote driving technology. This partnership accelerates our path to safe and scalable deployment.”
Thomas von der Ohe, co-founder and CEO of Vay, echoed the excitement around expanding remote driving into the trucking industry. “Over the past year, Vay has demonstrated how remote driving works in both consumer and business settings. Partnering with Kodiak marks our entry into long-haul freight logistics—an area where human insight and machine consistency can work powerfully together,” von der Ohe stated. “We’re thrilled to support Kodiak in making freight transportation not only more efficient but also safer.”
As Kodiak continues to scale its driverless operations, the partnership with Vay illustrates a growing trend in autonomous mobility: combining artificial intelligence with strategic human support to overcome real-world complexity and ensure reliability in commercial deployment.
