Friday March 29, 2024
17-01-22

Nuro reveals new autonomous delivery vehicle and expands partnership with Kroger

Nuro autonomous delivery vehicle
Nuro autonomous delivery vehicle

American robotics company Nuro has launched the third generation of its autonomous delivery vehicle, which according to the company is “ready to be produced at scale.”

The new R3 vehicle can reach a top operating speed of 45mph, is 20% smaller in width than the average passenger car and will be manufactured and tested at Nuro’s new US$40 million end-of-line manufacturing facility and test track currently being built in Nevada, USA.

Nuro has also announced an expanded collaboration with US retailer Kroger, which tested Nuro’s first autonomous delivery vehicle, the R1, in Scottsdale, Arizona in 2018. Kroger and Nuro will now work together to roll out the R3 to deliver goods to neighbourhoods in Houston.

Trials and collaborations

Nuro was founded in 2016 by Jiajun Zhu and Dave Ferguson, who both worked as engineers on Google’s self-driving car project, Waymo. Following the introduction of the R1 in 2018, Nuro introduced the R2 in 2020 and went on to achieve several industry firsts, including being the first autonomous delivery vehicle to operate driverless in three US states, and the first vehicle to receive an autonomous vehicles exemption from the US Department of Transportation.

To date, Nuro has provided autonomous local delivery for communities in Texas, Arizona, and California, working with companies including Kroger, CVS, Domino’s, and FedEx. Furthermore, in December 2021, the company announced it had teamed up with 7-Eleven to introduce California’s first commercial autonomous delivery service. The R3 has been developed using learnings from the R1 and R2.

“The journey towards our vision has already involved a lot of hard work, iteration and tenacity,” said Dave Ferguson, Nuro President. “We started with the insight that autonomous vehicles could replace local shopping trips as a much more sustainable, efficient, and frankly, sensible way to get things. We were convinced that the right path was to build an autonomous vehicle just for transporting goods, so we did.”

Technical details

The battery-electric Nuro R3 features compartment space of 27 ft3, which can fit around 24 bags of groceries inside and handle 500 lbs. Modular inserts which fit inside the compartments allow for heating and cooling, enabling a range of temps from 22°F to 116°F. Customers interact with the vehicle through an easy-to-use large touchscreen, which Nuro notes “will enable us to design new and engaging kerbside commerce experiences such as mobile marketplaces.”

Furthermore, a sophisticated network of sensors provides an in-depth 360° view of the area surrounding the vehicle to enhance safety and risk detection. The R3 can also clean its own sensors, ensuring they continue to operate efficiently and help the vehicle maintain safe operations throughout the day. According to Nuro, the sensors can sense everything from “the difference between a bundle of leaves and a pet to how many pedestrians are standing at a crosswalk in dense fog.”

To enhance safety further, the R3 also has a custom external pedestrian airbag across the front of the bot, which has been optimized to reduce the force of impact in the event of a collision. The R3 has been designed to operate in the same conditions as motor vehicles, including in a wide variety of geographies and in various weather conditions. Meanwhile, defensive and detection mechanisms have been engineered into the vehicle for early warning about potential attacks.

With the R3 Nuro has also decided to strengthen its commitment to the environment. The company is using 100% renewable electricity from wind farms in Texas to power its fleet and to reduce its overall carbon footprint. “And all materials adhere to strict sourcing and supply chain standards meant to protect the natural environment,” Nuro wrote on its website.

“With the announcement of our first commercial deployment with 7-Eleven, Nuro is embarking on a real path towards the widespread deployment of our service,” said Jiajun Zhu, Co-Founder and CEO, Nuro. “We look forward to building on our steady momentum as we look to grow into more and more communities in the near future – hopefully one you call home.”

SourceNuro, Kroger
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