Bigger, faster self-driving delivery vehicles are coming to Mountain View streets

In a sign of its maturing technology, the Mountain View-based company Nuro recently received approval from the California DMV to test its latest self-driving delivery vehicle in four Bay Area cities.

Dubbed the R3, Nuro’s third-generation driverless vehicle is bigger, faster and can travel further on a single charge than its previous fleet of autonomous vehicles. Soon, the R3 will take to the streets of Mountain View, Los Altos, Palo Alto and Menlo Park, according to a permit issued by the DMV on July 24.

Like its predecessor, the R3 is not designed to carry passengers, only goods for delivery. But this could change in the future, according to Nuro Chief Operating Officer Andrew Chapin.

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“I think where the technology has come — the maturity of it and the integration of machine learning and AI across the whole system — is starting to unlock other opportunities that aren’t just limited to local goods delivery,” Chapin said.

For now, Nuro plans to use the R3 to expand its commercial deliveries by the end of the year, Chapin said.

Nuro is already doing some pilots with its Toyota Prius fleet in autonomous mode, as part of a partnership with Uber Eats. The R3 would operate similarly in terms of delivery process and functionality, Chapin said, noting that the big difference is that the R3 would not have a safety driver in it.

The DMV permit allows for the R3 to travel at all times of day or night, as well as in conditions of light rain and light to moderate fog. It can go up to 45 mph, 10 mph faster than the R2.

The faster speed of the R3 unlocks a broader deployment area, Chapin said. In addition to the Bay Area, Nuro plans to test R3 commercial delivery services in Houston. Combined, the two metro areas will serve about 150,000 people, Chapin said.

Chapin also touted Nuro’s safety record and said that the company has surpassed one million autonomous miles across all of its fleets with no at-fault incidents.

According to DMV collision reports, there have been four incidents involving Nuro’s self-driving vehicles this year, two in Mountain View and two in Palo Alto. Damages were described as minor with no reported injuries.

In two cases, Nuro was deemed not at fault when operating in autonomous mode. In the other two cases, the vehicles were engaged in manual mode at the time of the collision.

Nuro also has worked closely with local jurisdictions to ensure public safety, Chapin said. A lot of the testing of its self-driving vehicles has happened in Mountain View, in part because the company has developed a good relationship with the city.

“We really try to build trust within the community and make sure that we are on the good side of governments as we start to roll this technology out,” Chapin said.

Nuro has worked with the Mountain View Fire Department as part of its outreach, including demonstrations on how to interact with its vehicles, and has performed perception testing to ensure that its autonomy technology can identify emergency lights, sirens and hoses on the ground, Chapin said.

The idea is to make sure that its autonomous vehicles work well around people and equipment in every situation, he added.

Nuro also plans to showcase the R3 at the Arts and Wine Festival in downtown Mountain View in September.