There is now an autonomous delivery robot vehicle that can bring you cold groceries or hot pizza. Meet Nuro, a last mile delivery and self-driving vehicle that was built with people and sustainability in mind.
Nuro is designed to protect pedestrians with external airbags and software that helps it avoid obstacles. But it’s also sustainable. Nuro is all electric and runs on 100% wind power from a wind farm in Texas.
Related: Amazon goes green with electric delivery vans
The company behind this unique little delivery robot employs best practices to manage an ethical and environmentally conscious supply chain. They also have privacy and human rights at the front of their minds, working with suppliers who respect the rights of their workers.
What we love about Nuro is that it’s designed with a touch screen on the side, so you could use this to accept an order or maybe even buy a drink and pastry from an autonomous roadside bakery vehicle. Think of these as the next generation of ice cream trucks.
If Nuro does get in an accident, the front end is designed to crumple to minimize injuries to the person or object involved in the accident. The vehicle is about the size of a tiny car, so there should be a bit of extra space to maneuver around these delivery bots in the streets if they take up a curbside lane. The autonomous tech on board is directed by sensing cameras, radar, lidar and thermal cameras that provide a detailed 360-degree view of surroundings to detect anything from pets to foliage the vehicle might want to avoid.
We have seen this type of vehicle around Ann Arbor, Michigan, where several competing last-mile delivery vehicle companies run their testing. There, we have not seen them run into anything despite crossing streets and maneuvering on pedestrian walkways. They even manage during inclement weather. Nuro’s sensors clean themselves during the day to retain sensitivity as they run routes, so snow on the lens isn’t going to cause bot blindness.
Nuro is developing three models of delivery vehicles that are in pre-production at the moment. One looks like a sedan, and the other two look like this little guy. From prescription to food delivery or popup convenience stores at festivals, you’ll be seeing these autonomous delivery bots at a curbside near you pretty soon.
Images via Nuro AI
