The future of last-mile delivery is not just electric but Autonomous Driving Technology. Vehicles with Autonomous Driving Technology could soon show up at your home delivering groceries, produce, electronic products and food.
American multinational pizza restaurant chain Domino’s has employed such technology with the help of an American robotics company called Nuro. The Pizza giant will begin deliveries using the Nuro R2 and autonomous delivery vehicle. The pilot program is currently limited to a single store in Woodland Heights, Houston Texas. The pilot program from the store in the Woodland Heights neighbourhood begins this week. Domino’s, in the future, is likely to employ more of these autonomous delivery vehicles around the US.
Customers ordering their Pizza online can use the Autonomous Delivery service as an option. When customers choose to get the order via futuristic technology, a Nuro R2 autonomous delivery vehicle is dispatched with the food order. The brand has already mapped the delivery area and the vehicle will be able to reach the customer’s address and the customer will be provided with a pin code for the food order. When the vehicle reaches the driveway, the customer needs to punch in the provided code to open the door of the vehicle and receive the order.
The brand claims that ‘R2’ is the first completely autonomous, occupant-less on-road delivery vehicle. The Nuro R2 comes with regulatory approval by the U.S. Department of Transportation for added peace of mind. The pilot program will allow the company to review and understand how customers respond to the new system. The initiative will also help the company learn more about the autonomous delivery space. The Nuro R2 also provides a new delivery experience for the customer. Back in 2018, Kroger and Nuro announced a pilot program for autonomous grocery delivery tests in Scottsdale, Arizona and Houston, Texas. Nuro and Walmart are working together and more such autonomous delivery vehicles will traverse the urban environment in the near future.
Also Read: Tesla will launch fully autonomous driving cars in 2021