Nuro, an American robotics company that develops autonomous delivery robots, is partnering with Walmart to launch a fleet of self-driving, neighborhood-friendly, grocery-delivering vehicles.

On Monday, the California-based robotics company Nuro announced that Houston, Texas, will be the home of a pilot fleet of autonomous vehicles delivering Walmart groceries to customers' home.

To be a recipient of such deliveries, customers (who have opted in to be a participant in the pilot) residing near select Walmart stores will be able to place product orders online and select this type of delivery as an alternative to Walmart's existing Grocery Delivery service, which relies on human employees to perform deliveries.

Previously, Nuro has worked with companies like Dominos and Kroger to likewise "support and improve local commerce." Each experience has allowed Nuro to refine its self-driving technology and vehicles. Currently, the company has plans to launch its fleet across an entire city, rather than simply in small areas. With the Domino's autonomous pizza delivery service also having been conducted in Houston, Nuro appears to be gaining experience on what's required for such a scale of deployment.

The launch of the pilot fleet of Nuro vehicles onto the streets of Houston is expected to take place in 2020.

 - AFP Relaxnews