The federal government has granted its first driverless car exemption.
Nuro’s second-generation vehicle, R2, was approved for regulatory exemption by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
“This decision provides regulatory certainty for Nuro to operate our second-generation self-driving vehicle, built to carry packages instead of people,” company co-founder Dave Ferguson wrote in a blog post.
The DOT exemption support’s Nuro’s deployment of the zero-occupant R2 on public roads without certain equipment required for passenger vehicles. Side and rear-view mirrors, for instance, are replaced with cameras and sensors; the windshield is exchanged for a more protective front panel.
A milestone for industry regulation, NHTSA’s decision comes after three years of discussion and collaboration between the government agency and Nuro.
The exemption request, submitted in October 2018, garnered support from officials in the city of Scottsdale, Ariz. (where Nuro piloted its first-gen vehicle), delivery partner Kroger, other automakers, autonomous tech firms, clean-energy advocates, and local citizens.
R2 compartments ready for unloading (via Nuro)
R2 will soon join Nuro’s fleet of self-driving Prius vehicles in Houston, making deliveries to consumers on public roads.
“DOT has taken a critical first step in enabling safety innovations, but exemptions are a temporary fix for an industry that’s reimagining what it means to drive,” Ferguson said.
“Moving forward, we must modernize the existing regulations that never envisioned a vehicle without a driver or occupants,” he continued. “And everyone in the industry must work to ensure self-driving technology is tested and deployed in the safest possible vehicles.”
Ferguson founded Nuro in 2016 with fellow former Google engineer Jiajun Zhu. Their fully driverless “pods” hit the road in December 2018, ferrying groceries to Scottsdale locals.
Nuro teamed up with Domino’s and Walmart last year to serve select Houston households.
“This exemption and the second-generation Nuro vehicle are ‘firsts’ for the autonomous vehicle industry, and they will be followed by many more,” according to Ferguson. “We look forward, together with others in the industry, to ushering in new ways to provide transportation and safer streets for all Americans.”
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