New software platform aims to accelerate AV development

Zack Novak, now the CEO at AI-enabled simulation and synthetic data software company Parallel Domain, previously ran the managed solutions division at Quantix, which operates one of the largest dry bulk trucking networks in North America.

Novak said each of Quantix's bulk trucks hauled close to 50,000 pounds of plastic pellets, which puts the rig near 80,000 pounds going down the road.

“With that much weight, you just can't have safety misses. Simulation is the only safe way to train for that,” Novak said. “We believe every physical AI system should go through simulation before it reaches the real world. You can't put a loaded Class 8 into a near-miss on purpose to teach a model how to recover. In simulation you can, thousands of times, before the truck ever touches a public road."

Parallel Domain (PD) tested and validated its technology with an autonomous trucking developer this year, and now the company is making a big commercial push with the launch of its new software PD Forma, which transforms raw capture data into validated, simulation-ready environments in hours.

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