The startup Nuro has introduced its third-generation autonomous delivery vehicle with improved design. The new vehicle is ready to be produced at scale.
The newly introduced version, simply called Nuro, is approximately 20% smaller in width than average passenger cars. This significantly smaller footprint gives bicyclists and pedestrians more room to maneuver alongside the bot.
Nuro is designed to safely operate in the same environment as all motor vehicles. The vehicle includes a host of radar, LiDAR, and thermal cameras that provide a detailed, multilayered 360º view of the world to detect anything from pets to foliage. It also includes a giant external airbag to protect pedestrians.
The delivery vehicle also carries twice the cargo space and has more room for the good stuff. Its ergonomically designed cargo compartments can fit about 24 bags of groceries over a total compartment space of 27 Cubic Feet and handle almost 500 lbs. And everything is easily accessible with the help of a beautiful, intuitive touchscreen. Modular inserts that fit inside the compartments allow for heating and cooling, with a range of temps from -22ºF or hot to 116ºF, which means pizza stays warm and soda stays cool.
Nuro will be able to reach a top operating speed of 45 mph (72 km/h), allowing the vehicle to reach more customers and serve more businesses on a wider variety of roads. The vehicle is already completely battery-electric and emission-free, but the company is further using 100% renewable energy from wind farms in Texas to power our fleet and to reduce its overall carbon footprint. And all materials adhere to strict sourcing and supply chain standards meant to protect the natural environment.
In late 2020, Nuro became the first company in California to receive approval to operate an automated and commercial delivery service.
The company announced the plans to build a manufacturing facility and test track in southern Nevada. These facilities “will be crucial for bringing online the tens of thousands of vehicles we’ll need to be able to serve neighborhoods across the country.” Nuro reports that pre-production is underway now, and it has partnered with BYD North America to assemble globally sourced hardware components for the vehicle platforms in California and Nevada.
