Robotics firm Nuro on Wednesday acquired the first-ever allow to commercially deploy its self-driving automobiles in California, permitting the Silicon Valley agency to cost shoppers for its driverless supply service.
Counting on a distant human operator – who might management a number of autonomous automobiles from miles away – is a step that enables a path to profitability within the rising subject of self-driving expertise.
Nuro has been testing autonomous automobiles on California’s roads with security drivers since 2017, and it was licensed by the state regulators to check two driverless supply automobiles in 9 cities earlier this yr.
The corporate stated it might launch a supply service with a fleet of autonomous Toyota Priuses, and later add its personal low-speed R2 automobile, which has no pedals or steering wheel and solely room for packages.
Final month, Nuro raised $500 million in a funding spherical, pushed by a large enhance to e-commerce from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nuro, a privately held agency primarily based in Mountain View, California, was permitted by the Nationwide Freeway Site visitors Security Administration in February to deploy as much as 5,000 low-speed electrical supply automobiles in Houston with out human controls reminiscent of mirrors and steering wheels.
