Nuro, an autonomous delivery company, is partnering with 7-Eleven on the convenience store’s first self-driving delivery project that will take place in Mountain View, California.
Customers will be able to use the 7NOW delivery app to have their products delivered via self-driving cars.
How it works
Users will be able to browse the app for pizza, chips, beverages, household items and more. Once a selection has been made, customers can choose the autonomous delivery option at no additional charge. The app will send updates for the order and then customers can grab items from the back of the vehicle when they are delivered.
The service will begin with Nuro’s autonomous Priuses and later will use R2 autonomous shuttles that are custom-built to transport products and goods without any occupants in the vehicle. Nuro became the first autonomous vehicle company to receive a deployment permit from the California DMV last year.
"Residents in the state of California — a major hub of innovation — have never been able to experience the commercial delivery of goods by an autonomous vehicle,” said Jiajun Zhu, Nuro CEO and co-founder. “Nuro is teaming up with 7-Eleven to change that."
When receiving the permit from the DMV, Nuro said it planned to bring its self-driving service to customers in Mountain View and the surrounding area and eventually move up to full statewide commercial deployment. The project with 7-Eleven is a follow up to these plans.
Nuro also started a pilot program this year for its R2 vehicles in Houston, Texas, after receiving approval from the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Nuro said this is the first time a company received an exemption to test a vehicle without a driver and without passengers.
The first generation vehicles from Nuro were also used by Kroger to expand self-driving delivery service in the Houston area.
