Self-Driving Startup Robotics Research Raises $228 Million In Funding

Self-driving technology startup Robotic Research said on Thursday it has raised $228 million from investors including SoftBank to scale up its commercial division’s solutions for trucks, buses and logistics vehicles.

The fundraising round also included an investment from Luminar Technologies, which makes lidar sensors used in self-driving cars.

Robotic Research has been working on a variety of military applications for the U.S. Department of Defense for 20 years, including self-driving road clearing vehicles used in Afghanistan, and an autonomous shuttle for wounded soldiers at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina.

The company also runs “platooning” cargo services – where driverless trucks follow a lead truck at a set distance on highways – for the U.S. Army.