Self-driving tech startup Nuro announced on Wednesday that it will be launching an autonomous driving delivery service for 7-Eleven in California, the first of its kind in the state. The service will make use of Toyota Priuses that have been converted into autonomous vehicles while safety drivers will remain in the cars in order to monitor the technology and take control should the need arise. The autonomous 7-Eleven deliveries will be made available in the Mountain View area, where Nuro is headquartered.
Prior to its partnership with 7-Eleven, Nuro already began rolling out autonomous delivery for Domino’s Pizza in Houston, Texas. This was done using the company’s Prius and R2 vehicles.
“The Priuses are the first step in Nuro’s multi-phase approach to introducing commercial autonomous delivery to select service areas,” the company explained, further adding that 7-Eleven is working with Nuro to launch the automated delivery service as soon as possible.
While the service capacity will still be limited, Nuro and its competitors such as Waymo are in the process of seeking federal regulatory approval so that such systems can be rolled out across the United States.
