Pizza-toting robots: US lets Nuro deploy driverless delivery vehicles

Nuro's self-driving vehicle 'R2' carrying bags of groceries. The US NHTSA granted temporary approval for Silicon Valley robotics company Nuro to the a low-speed autonomous delivery vehicle, without side and rear-view mirrors and other safety provisions required of vehicles driven by humans. — Nuro/AP

WASHINGTON: In a first-of-its-kind approval by US regulators, a federal agency on Feb 6 gave permission for autonomous vehicle startup Nuro Inc over the next two years to deploy up to 5,000 low-speed electric delivery vehicles without human controls like mirrors and steering wheels.

The rollout of the R2 vehicle will take place in Houston, with plans for it to deliver items like pizza and groceries. It is about half the width of a regular car, has no steering wheel or seating positions and boasts gull-wing cargo doors reminiscent of the time-traveling car in the Back To The Future films.