Supermarket chain Kroger and robotics company Nuro have announced they are to launch an autonomous delivery service for grocery in Houston, Texas, this spring.
The Houston autonomous delivery service comes after the successful pilot in Scottsdale, Arizona, and will be available through two Houston Kroger stores and will service customers living in four Houston zip codes.
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Customers across Greater Houston will continue to have access to the current Kroger delivery service. Customers using the new grocery service can shop via Kroger.com or the Kroger app. Orders will be accommodated based on slot availability and delivered by Nuro’s fleet of self-driving Prius vehicles.
Nuro also plans to introduce the next generation of the custom driver-less vehicles later this year.
Nuro co-founder Dave Ferguson said: “We’ve seen first-hand in Arizona how enthusiastic customers are about getting their Kroger groceries delivered by a Nuro self-driving vehicle.
“Texas has been a leader in encouraging self-driving innovation, and we’re excited to help deliver that future for Houston — a dynamic, diverse and welcoming metropolitan city that we’re excited to soon explore and serve with this autonomous delivery service.”
Kroger chief digital officer Yael Cosset said: “Our Arizona pilot program confirmed the flexibility and benefits provided by autonomous vehicles and how much customers are open to more innovative solutions.
“It’s always been our shared vision to scale this initiative to new markets, using world-changing technology to enable a new type of delivery service for our customers.
“We operate 102 stores in Houston—an energetic market that embraces digital and technology advancement. The launch is one more way we are committed to sustainably providing our customers with anything, anytime, and anywhere, the way they want it.”
