American retailing chain, Kroger has recently announced plans to deploy an unmanned autonomous delivery vehicle in partnership with Nuro, a robotics company based in California. Nuro is more than an unmanned car, it is designed specifically to only transport goods and contains two compartments. The customer will be given the access code to open the doors when the vehicle arrives in their driveway. This will further boost the retail market and make grocery delivery accessible and affordable.
Nuro is started by two former Google self-driving car project engineers and is just about 2 years old. The company has managed to design its first self-driving vehicle project that is aimed at goods transportation. Through this innovative partnership, customers will be able to place same-day delivery orders through Kroger’s ClickList ordering system and Nuro’s app. Currently, Nuro has 6 electric vehicles that can deliver goods and this is a unique project which might first see the commercial implementation of autonomous vehicles over self-driving cars.
“Unmanned delivery will be a game-changer for local commerce, and together with Kroger, we’re thrilled to test this new delivery experience to bring grocery customers new levels of convenience and value,” said, Dave Ferguson, Co-Founder, Nuro.
For Kroger, this partnership will see it getting ahead of other grocery retailers’ with quicker and more reliable delivery of groceries. Online retailers including the likes of Amazon is also working on implementing an autonomous ground vehicle that could deliver door deliver various goods. Walmart and Postmates announced an agreement in April to expand the retailer’s Online Grocery Delivery option.
