Innovative vehicle without steering wheel and pedals
2023.01.10 12:18
Innovative vehicle without steering wheel and pedals
By Ray Johnson
Budrigannews.com – A Silicon Valley startup can now use thousands of its self-driving delivery vehicles on US streets thanks to the government’s approval.
The US Department of Transportation says that Nuro, which is based in Mountain View, California, can now launch up to 5,000 of its R2 autonomous vehicles in the next two years.
Because it was made to be driven without a driver and carry cargo, the R2 lacks a steering wheel, pedals, or side mirrors. On its side, large compartments open up to reveal deliveries like pizza or groceries.
Nuro stated that it will initially deploy the R2 to 160,000 Houston residents in six zip codes. It didn’t say when exactly it plans to start delivering Domino’s pizza to Houston, but it does plan to do so soon. The partnership with Walmart to test autonomous grocery delivery in Houston sometime this year was announced in December.
In order to expedite the introduction of cutting-edge technologies onto the road, the federal government has instructed companies developing self-driving vehicles to submit applications for exemptions from its vehicle standards. Nuro is the first company to be exempt from the Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, which require cars to have a long list of safety features like seat belts and airbags. Nuro is the first company to be exempt from these standards.
In a statement, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao stated, “Since this is a low-speed self-driving delivery vehicle, certain features that the department traditionally required – such as mirrors and windshield for vehicles carrying drivers – no longer make sense.”
The R2 does not have to meet the same safety standards as cars and SUVs because it is also a low-speed vehicle. The maximum speed of low-speed vehicles is 25 miles per hour, and their weight cannot exceed 2,500 pounds.
In addition to reporting general information about the R2’s operation on a periodic basis, Nuro is required to report any crash-related information to the federal government. The Department of Transportation’s spokesperson declined to provide any additional information regarding the required additional data.
According to Bryan Reimer, an associate director of the New England University Transportation Center at MIT and a research scientist in the MIT AgeLab, “one will need to look at the fine print of the reporting requirements to fully assess if NHTSA will be requiring robust enough information on adverse events to fully quantify the risks and benefits of the deployments.” I’m glad to see that this is only for low-speed deployments because everyone can’t run until they walk.
At first, a vehicle with a human driver will follow the R2, monitoring it and intervening remotely if necessary. On private land, the R2 is already being tested.
Nuro intends to concentrate on Houston for the time being and will only produce a few hundred R2s in its first year of operation. When its next-generation R3 goes on sale, it expects to produce thousands more. The R3’s launch date was not disclosed by the company.
Nuro, in contrast to the majority of self-driving businesses, focuses on moving goods rather than people. When compared to a person, when an autonomous vehicle transports groceries, there are fewer ethical and safety concerns. It is possible to avoid such inquiries regarding whether a passenger or a pedestrian should receive priority in a collision.
As they continue to develop and modify their vehicles, the majority of self-driving companies have not applied for exemptions from the government. Today, companies like Alphabet’s Waymo that offer self-driving cars use vehicles with traditional car parts like a steering wheel, pedals, and mirrors. This has made it easier for them to deploy.
