Udelv has delivered... a public road autonomous delivery test.
Burlingame, California-based startup Udelv has completed two public road test deliveries using its autonomous, last-mile electric delivery vehicle for the first time.
The 2.5-mile route started from area favorite Draeger's Market to recipients in the San Mateo, California area.
Competing with the likes of Nuro, the vehicle is built atop the Polaris GEM electric platform, delivering a claimed 60-mile range on a single charge and a top speed of 25 miles per hour. Its technological stack comprises of LIDAR sensors, rooftop cameras, and cloud-based proprietary technology shared with customers and merchants to coordinate deliveries.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W37xtEMI92c
"Deliveries are the perfect first application for autonomous vehicles," said Daniel Laury, CEO of udelv. "Customers simply open the locker with a press of a button on their mobile device and the vehicle heads on its way to the next delivery or back to the store.
"This is a historic revolution in transportation. We are reinventing deliveries. McKinsey estimates that 80 percent of all package deliveries will be autonomous in the next decade," continued Laury. "I am very proud that udelv is first and leads this revolution."
The store's owner, Richard Draeger, said the chain would start using the van for regular deliveries. Draeger's Market and others are looking to benefit from Udelv's $0.05 per mile in operating costs, a compelling savings proposition from standard delivery costs.
"Our customers are very tech-savvy," said Draeger. "We look forward to adding the udelv autonomous vehicle and its cost reduction factor to our delivery fleet."
In compliance with Calif. law, a human rode in the vehicle in case of an emergency. The vehicle is also limited to streets with speed limits of 35 miles an hour.
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