Autonomous Delivery Vehicles to Deploy in California

Autonomous Delivery Vehicles to Deploy in California


A Toyota startup wants to make it easier for you to stay home – if you live in Irvine, California. The Chinese subsidiary, Pony.ai, plans to deploy autonomous delivery vehicles in a pilot program lasting through the summer.

In the past, we’ve covered autonomous delivery robots, a ride-share program that doubles as a courier, autonomous police cars, self-driving taxis, and all manner of advanced technology vehicles. So the concept, itself, isn’t brand new. But COVID-19 has lent an urgency to anything that helps people shelter-in-place.

And with delivery services stretched thin – and a huge courier shortage – an automated solution is sorely needed.

To fill this need, Pony.ai will partner with Yamibuy, an e-tailer specializing in Chinese goods, to focus on delivering “essential” groceries. Yamibuy provides the cargo, and the vehicles are based on an automated Hyundai Kona variant, still in the prototype stages.

I don’t have to tell you how big this is, especially if the nationwide quarantine lasts through the summer. And since the “curve” is definitely not flattening, automated delivery could be a goldmine.