OSS Delivers Ruggedized Compute Solution for Embark's Commercial Autonomous Truck Deployment

One Stop Systems, Inc. (OSS) has secured 2 autonomous truck program wins with Embark Trucks, Inc., developer of autonomous technology for the trucking industry.

Centauri rugged PCIe storage expansion system

The 2 wins include one for the company’s Centauri rugged PCIe storage expansion system and another for the firm’ next-gen optimized autonomous truck 3U SDS rugged accelerated computing server, 3U SDS-AT.

This wins involve equipping trucks from Embark’s test fleet with performance ruggedized compute and transportable storage capabilities. Embark is expected to be a top 10 account for OSS starting this year.

The company worked with Embark and other customers to define the attributes and inform the design of the next-gen 3U SDS that would make it for the autonomous truck market. Leveraging Embark’s industry experience and feedback, the firm included attributes such as additional ruggedization and more efficient air cooling, system monitoring and I/O – all elements critical to the commercial operation of autonomous long-haul trucks.

3U SDS-AT

The 3U SDS is powered by 3 of an advanced Nvidia A100 Tensor Core GPUs, an AMD Epyc 7003 series processor and the Gen 4 NVMe flash storage.

Embark is a provider in autonomous trucking space, and focused on commercializing its self-driving software for semi-trucks, Embark Driver. Autonomous trucks powered by Embark can haul goods for a longer amount of uninterrupted time, create greater efficiencies and improve the economics of shipping across the country, which are key benefits as the U.S. grapples with a chronic truck driver shortage.

Autonomous driving capabilities can also improve safety and fuel efficiency in the trucking industry. They can also reduce delivery times by enabling trucks to travel across USA. in shorter periods of time compared to human-operated trucks, which are limited by hours-of-service regulations.

The company provides performance solutions for the autonomous truck market, allowing companies to focus on the development of their autonomous driving software as well as integration of hardware and sensor componentry. The firm is also working with several companies towards developing high-volume production solutions for the coming years.

The company’ products are currently being utilized for 4 autonomous trucking components: main compute server, expansion chassis and transportable storage that are all located in the long-haul truck, and the second server that is located in the trucking depot hub which can upload vast amounts of data to the main system for further analysis.

“These additional wins reaffirm our belief that OSS is delivering the best solutions for autonomous long-haul trucking on the market today,” stated David Raun, president and CEO. “This third win for our 3U SDS platform demonstrates our expert ability to ruggedize datacenter-class compute and storage solutions and ensure the highest level of durability required by today’s autonomous trucks. Our solutions also provide secure system monitoring and control, ground-breaking cooling technologies, and PCIe scalability that supports a variety of trucks with varying amounts of sensors.”

“In order to meet demanding fleet uptime requirements, autonomous trucking demands ‘performance without compromise’ in harsh environments,” he added. “This capability is enabled by a strong partner like OSS who is committed to working hand in hand with market leaders like Embark, where together we can produce commercial grade solutions for scaling autonomous long-haul trucking.”

Ben Stinnett, head, hardware, Embark, commented: “Embark is commercializing autonomous trucks with an asset-light approach, focusing exclusively on developing autonomous software and partnering with industry-leading suppliers like OSS to integrate the highest quality hardware into our technology stack. The levels of performance and ruggedization of OSS AI Transportable products have helped us significantly advance the capabilities of Embark Driver. We value the flexibility and partnership with OSS, as we pursue our mission to improve the safety, efficiency, and sustainability of the trucking industry.”

The n3U SDS-AT servers for Embark are scheduled to begin shipping this quarter.

About Centauri portable flash storage integration
Centauri is a PCIe Gen 4 NVMe ruggedized storage system that offers capacity in a compact, hot-swappable, transportable canister that slides into a flange mountable chassis.

Inside Centauri storage expansion

Centauri can data log up to 320TB in an 8-drive canister. All 8 drives can be removed simultaneously from the saddle bag of an autonomous truck without having to climb into the truck. They can be transported to the depot hub servers, which uploads the data to the cloud. The canister accepts U.2 NVMe or SATA SSDs.

The NVMe version is equipped with a PCIe Gen 4 interface that provides storage throughput up to 5.0x faster transfer rate as compared to SATA. The rugged design, high throughput and large capacity make it for capturing raw video and data from the multitude of sensors mounted around the truck and transporting that data quickly to the depot.

Centauri is designed to meet MIL-STD-810G ruggedization requirements, making it for both commercial and military vehicle data logging.

“This second autonomous trucking win for Centauri once again highlights our expertise in high-performance storage, rugged environmental design and scale-out technologies,” said Raun. “Our compute and storage solutions are a perfect match for demanding AI, high-bandwidth sensors and video sources in ruggedized edge environments.”

Centauri is shipping to multiple customers in autonomous trucking.

How system works
OSS compute solutions, like the 3U SDS-AT, integrate directly with autonomous trucking software to gather and process data from the multiple sensors embedded around an autonomous vehicle, including LiDAR, radar, telemetry (GPS) and cameras, to make decisions on the road in real time. The vast amounts of data captured by the sensors and the performance of the autonomous driving model are then logged on an firm’s storage solution, such as Centauri, and then transported and uploaded to the cloud at central autonomous truck depots. The cloud data from the autonomous trucks is then used by data scientists and an evolving machine learning AI model to improve the vehicle’s self-driving capabilities.

The combination of Gen 4 NVMe memory in a removable canister and the accessible location of Centauri in a truck’s external ‘saddlebag’ compartment creates a method of transporting data between truck and depot, and allows the truck to get back on the road.

This company’s AI Transportables technology addresses the growing global market for autonomous trucking that, according to Pitchbook, is projected to grow from $528 million in 2023 to more than $166 billion annually by 2035.

The firm’s compute and storage platforms can be ordered from the company’s channel partners WW, as well as directly from the company’s sales engineers.

Centauri storage expansion