US startup tries remote-control trucks


Manoeuvring through barriers: Autonomous ride-hailing fleets have made little progress beyond testing, pushing startups like Phantom Auto to look at other sectors.

FOR four days in February, Ben Shukman showed up to his office at Phantom Auto in Mountain View, California, sat down in front of a bank of computer screens with a steering wheel in a darkened room, and began driving. As the 25-year-old turned the wheel in Silicon Valley, an empty truck 2,500 miles away in Atlanta picked up semi trailers and towed them around a warehouse lot.

From seven states away, Shukman backed trailers into loading docks and parking spaces.

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