Kroger to test self-driving grocery delivery via Nuro

Cleveland, Ohio – Grocery giant Kroger is working with Silicon Valley startup Nuro to test self-driving grocery delivery vehicles. Customers will place orders through Kroger’s ClickList online ordering system and Nuro’s app. Small delivery vehicles will then carry orders to customers’ homes.

Nuro’s vehicles have no seats, no place for a driver, and the front and rear glass is mainly decorative. All interior space is dedicated to cargo, batteries and electric drive units. The vehicle can carry about 20 standard grocery bags, 10 in each of its two compartments.

About half the width of a Toyota Corolla compact, Nuro’s R1 car weighs about 1,500 lb and is about 6ft tall.

The R1 is a neighborhood electric vehicle (NEV), meaning it can’t go more than 25mph, and it doesn’t have to comply with safety regulations calling for airbags and other features. NEV rules are a fairly old part of the vehicle code – a set of regulations allowing golf cars and other low-speed vehicles operate in public streets in gated communities.

Startup electric vehicle companies have tried several techniques to avoid safety regulations for decades. Three-wheeled electric cars, for example, are classified as motorcycles, allowing them to avoid more stringent rules. Some safety advocates have criticized such dodges, calling fast three-wheeled electrics unsafe for drivers. The lack of people in the Nuro vehicle should alleviate those concerns.

Kroger and Nuro plan to announce their target market for the test this fall.

Kroger Chief Digital Officer Yael Cosset says the grocer has already embraced the digital future through its Restock Kroger initiative, an initiative to use Big Data to analyze store trends and optimize merchandising and store layout at each of its 2,800 locations.

“We have already started to redefine the grocery customer experience and expand the coverage area for our anything, anytime, and anywhere offering,” Cosset says. “Partnering with Nuro, a leading technology company, will create customer value by providing Americans access to fast and convenient delivery at a fair price."

Mountain View, California-based Nuro Co-founder Dave Ferguson says the partnership with Kroger advances the company’s strategy of offering free delivery for local products and services. Furguson and Jiajun Zhu founded Nuro in 2016 after leaving Google’s self-driving car program, now known as Waymo.

"Unmanned delivery will be a game-changer for local commerce, Ferguson says. "Our safe, reliable, and affordable service, combined with Kroger's ubiquitous brand, is a powerful first step in our mission to accelerate the benefits of robotics for everyday life."

About the author: Robert Schoenberger is the editor of Today's Motor Vehicles and a contributor to Today's Medical Developments and Aerospace Manufacturing and Design. He has written about the automotive industry for more than 18 years at The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, Ohio; The Courier-Journal in Louisville, Kentucky; and The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Mississippi.

rschoenberger@gie.net