Nuro and 7-Eleven launch autonomous vehicle delivery service in California
The 24-hour convenience store chain 7-Eleven has partnered with Nuro to pilot a commercial autonomous vehicle delivery service in Mountain View, California.
The service, which customers gained access to on December 1 through the 7-Eleven 7NOW delivery app, will initially use Nuro's self-driving Prius vehicles. Eventually, the service will use Nuro R2 autonomous delivery vehicles, which were specially designed to carry only packages.
7-Eleven has already experimented with autonomous delivery. In 2016, the company tested autonomous delivery in Reno, Nevada, with drone maker Flirtey. More recently, a 7-Eleven store operator in South Korea began testing sidewalk delivery robots developed by local startup Neubility in southern Seoul.
The partnership with Nuro is designed as a commercial service, not a research project. However, a company representative called the project a pilot. It will be a commercial venture, but a limited one, at least at first.
“When Dave and I founded Nuro in 2016, we wanted to think about more than just creating cars that could drive themselves. Instead, we wanted to rethink the assumptions about how and why we all use cars in the first place. Our goal was to change the way everyone accesses the things they need, allowing people to stay safely at home while groceries, medicine and packages are brought to them”
Nuro, like other companies, has spent many years pursuing regulatory and technical plans to launch commercial operations. In December 2020, Nuro said it planned to begin commercial deliveries in early 2021 after obtaining the final permit required to operate commercial autonomous vehicles on public roads in California.
It appears those plans were put on hold for a while and are only now resuming. Nuro was the first company to clear the regulatory hurdle after receiving a permit from the state Department of Motor Vehicles. At the time, the company did not name a prospective commercial partner or city. As its starting point, Nuro chose its home turf: Mountain View.
The company has launched many other pilot projects outside California, including with Kroger and FedEx. Nuro has no specific timeline for expanding beyond Mountain View or even beyond the first 7-Eleven store it is launching with. The city has several stores, but for now customers can get their groceries and other goods only from the 7-Eleven at 1905 Latham St., Mountain View.
As a Nuro representative told TechCrunch in an email, the intention is to use more ZIP codes in the future. The company also did not say when it will switch to its R2 bot, but that is the ultimate goal. A spokesperson said Nuro and 7-Eleven will jointly decide to add R2 to the delivery fleet as soon as possible.
As of today, customers can order drinks and snacks through the 7NOW app and receive them in Mountain View on a Nuro autonomous vehicle from 8:00 to 21:00 at no extra charge. The app will send updates as the order is processed, similar to how other delivery apps work today. The companies said orders will be delivered in about 30 minutes. Age-restricted products such as alcohol, tobacco and lottery tickets will not be available through autonomous delivery.
The partnership became known just a few weeks after Nuro announced it had raised $600 million in a funding round led by new investor Tiger Global Management. The company said the funds will be used to expand commercial operations.
“The idea Dave and I had, to rethink cars and what they can do, is starting to deliver results in local communities. But because this is a completely new technology and type of vehicle, we also know it is very important to introduce people to our services. That is why we talk with city leaders, community groups and the public before, during and after launching our service, because to build a service people love and trust, we have to meet them where they are”
According to him, the company held demonstrations at its headquarters in Mountain View for city officials, emergency services, school groups and the business community. Nuro team members regularly meet local residents at neighborhood association meetings, community events such as an arts and wine festival and a Chamber of Commerce technology showcase, and meetings of local groups focused on cyclist safety, climate protection and transportation policy.
The company created a law enforcement engagement plan as a framework for working with police and emergency services, which are responsible for people's daily safety. Representatives of these services will become familiar with Nuro's vehicles and how to interact with them.
