Autonomous driving is turning out to be a hot topic, especially for logistic companies. The human-less approach will help them standardize and bring about decorum to the delivery business. We have seen various human-transporting autonomous technology in vehicles. But those vehicles have a lot more restrictions in terms of size and safety.
Take the human factor out of the pod, and then, you have a much simpler solution to deduce. Nuro is doing just that with their third-gen autonomous cutie. This pod is smaller than a generic family sedan and is destined to be a delivery vehicle. The new Nuro packs more cargo space and adds quirky safety features. Nuro plans on being your buddy for all booze and pizza needs!
The Nuro is a cute little autonomous vehicle that wants to disrupt the delivery business.
Third Time's The Charm
These guys have been in the art of making autonomous vehicles since 2018. Their first-gen prototype was a tiny machine that pitched forth the concept of autonomous delivery pods that carried anything but humans!
Then came their second-gen prototype called R2 that made Nuro the first company to be approved for a self-driving vehicle exception by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the US Department of Transportation (DOT).
Now, they are back at it with an even better model. But this time it won't be called R3 but simply Nuro. Their latest cutie is larger and carries more cargo in two compartments. They have doubled down on autonomous technology and safety tech to make it more appealing and trustworthy.
Currently, the Nuro is still in the concept stage but will soon replace the self-driving Toyota Prius vehicles that have been deployed for various 7-Eleven stores in California.
Hot Pizzas To Chilled Beers To Grocery Needs, Nuro's Got It All
Just like the previous concepts, Nuro's latest creation has a much smaller footprint, which makes it 20% less wide than an average passenger car. This autonomous pod vehicle can haul around up to 500 pounds of cargo in two compartments with a combined 27 cu. ft. volume. This translates to roughly 24 bags of a week's worth of groceries.
Nuro has also pitched forth various modular inserts that can help transport and deliver hot and cold foods as well, with the capacity to dial temperatures between chilly 22 degrees to a crispy 116 degrees. The usage is very simple, with humans interacting with an external touchscreen slotted between the compartments. And also, this pod comes with cool gull-wing doors. Can't beat that experience!
Sustainably Take On The Delivery Van Business
This pod wants to be completely sustainable. Nuro states that their autonomous vehicles are juiced up using electricity sourced from wind farms in Texas. The body is made from standardized materials and poses an all-weather structure.
Powertrain details are not out yet, but this cute Nuro can do speed up to 45 mph. It would be a lot slower when people are around thanks to its clever technology integration.
Nuro Is Very Serious About Safety; Comes With An External Airbag
The highlighting addition to this autonomous vehicle is a pillow upfront. Just Kidding! Well, the Nuro comes equipped with an external airbag that would deploy if this pod even happens to be in a front-on collision. While details of its autonomous tech haven't been released yet, we believe that it will carry forward the same package used in their second-gen model. It includes LiDAR, 360-degree cameras, and ultrasonic sensor technology. The only new addition would be tech to automatically clean the sensor and camera package in the urban wild.
These Cuties Will Be Built By BYD North America
Nuro is planning to expand beyond California, and BYD North America is helping them scale up. BYD is helping them source hardware components and build the pods in California. Then Nuro will be transferring these pods to their upcoming $40 million facilities in Nevada where these cuties will get the final touches.
Sources: Nuro.ai, Carscoops.com, Newatlas.com, Popsci.com