The Kroger Co. and startup Nuro are parterning to pilot an on-road, fully autonomous delivery experience. Through this partnership, customers will be able to place same-day delivery orders through Kroger’s ClickList ordering system and Nuro’s app. During the test, orders will be delivered by Nuro’s fleet of autonomous vehicles.

This is the first application and deployment of Nuro’s hardware and software. The pilot market will be announced soon and is expected to begin this fall.

Dave Ferguson and Jiajun Zhu, who most recently were Principal Engineers at Google’s self-driving car project (now Waymo), founded Nuro in 2016 to harness the power of robotics and artificial intelligence.

Nuro’s team comprises veterans in robotics, consumer electronics, autonomous vehicles, and automotive—from Google, Waymo, Apple, Uber, Tesla, and GM. Members of the team have won numerous world competitions, including DARPA Urban Challenge, DARPA Robotics Challenge, and ImageNet.

Nuro’s vehicle is a fully autonomous, on-road vehicle designed to transport goods quickly, safely, and affordably.

Kroger’s expansive retail footprint of 2,800 stores in 35 states combined with Nuro’s technology platform could change the status quo of grocery delivery through convenience at a low price, the partners said. This allows customers to get what they need, when they need it, wherever they are.

Unmanned delivery will be a game-changer for local commerce, and together with Kroger, we’re thrilled to test this new delivery experience to bring grocery customers new levels of convenience and value. Our safe, reliable, and affordable service, combined with Kroger’s ubiquitous brand, is a powerful first step in our mission to accelerate the benefits of robotics for everyday life.

—Dave Ferguson