Coming soon to Arizona.
WalmartGeneral Motors' Cruise Automation subsidiary and Walmart announced plans to tie the knot in the form of a new delivery partnership on Tuesday. The self-driving car subsidiary and the massive retailing chain will allow residents of Scottsdale, Arizona to order goods online and have them delivered via a Cruise autonomous car prototype.
The pilot program kicks off next year with a concrete date yet to come, but it sounds pretty simple. Shoppers place their order online and a self-driving car drops the stuff off in a contactless fashion. More than likely, a human will still be onboard, but it's not clear if the shopper of someone else will unload the goods from the car.
Walmart said Cruise was the most attractive option, thanks to its progress on autonomous vehicle technologies and the fact its prototype vehicles are electric. Walmart aims to be completely zero-emissions in just 20 years.
No word on a possible expansion of the pilot program, but it's reasonable to think if customers dig robo-cars dropping their groceries off, then it'll expand to other areas. Cruise and Walmart aren't the only ones trying out this system, either. Nuro is perhaps best known for its partnership with Kroger to deliver groceries, prescriptions and more via its electric, autonomous pod car.
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