The coronavirus pandemic has changed the plans of self-propelled vehicle developers, who have been actively testing autonomous driving technologies in recent years.
Robo-cars, self-driving trucks, robotic carts and shuttles are now mainly used to help deliver groceries, food and medicine to the self-isolating population. However, this does not prevent developers from taking advantage of this opportunity to continue collecting data.
Since mid-April, Cruise, the self-driving vehicle arm of General Motors Co., has been delivering food to seniors in need, donated by SF-Marin Food Bank and SF New Deal, with a "SF COVID-19 Response" sticker on their windshields. In each car there are two employees in masks and gloves who leave food packages at the doors of dwellings.
"The pandemic really shows where self-driving cars can come in handy in the future," said Rob Grant, Cruise's vice president of government engagement. βOne of the areas is contactless delivery, which we are currently implementing.β
In turn, self-driving car startup Pony.ai said its cars have returned after a break to the streets of California and are now delivering groceries to Irvine residents from local e-commerce platform Yamibuy.
Startup Nuro is using its R2 vehicles to deliver medical supplies to a makeshift hospital treating patients with COVID-19 in Sacramento and a makeshift health facility in San Mateo County.
Transport companies provide all these services free of charge, at the same time gaining experience and accumulating data on the functioning of robotic vehicles systems during delivery.
It should be noted that from April 29, the delivery of documents and parcels in the Skolkovo innovation center robot courier "Yandex.Rover".
Source: 3dnews.ru