It has no driver, no passengers, no steering wheel and
no windshield, but the Nuro self-driving vehicles just got the OK to travel on public roads.
The approval to produce and deploy up to 5,000 Nuro R2 vehicles on public roads came from the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The R2 is a highly automated, electric, low-speed vehicle designed to carry cargo, such as groceries or pizza. The top speed of the
vehicle is 25 miles per hour.
This is the first automated driving system (ADS) vehicle exempted under the general exemption authority of the NHTSA.
“Since this is a low-speed
self-driving delivery vehicle, certain features that the Department traditionally required , such as mirrors and a windshield for vehicles carrying drivers, no longer make sense,” U.S. Secretary
of Transportation Elaine L. Chao said in a statement.
Walmart already disclosed plans to use Nuro’s R2 in a pilot as an extension of its Grocery and Pickup and Delivery service in
Houston.
Domino’s also previously announced plans to use the R2 for pizza deliveries and Kroger to delivery groceries.
Truly self-driving vehicles are finally getting on the
road.