Nuro is known in the autonomous vehicle industry for our custom vehicles, which are zero-emission, purpose-built for goods delivery, and prioritize road safety above all else.
At any given time, we have multiple vehicles on the roads, all playing different roles from mapping a neighborhood to testing our autonomy system and ultimately, performing deliveries. In this blog, we’d like to give you a detailed look at our fleet, and explain each vehicle’s role in scaling our delivery service with nationally recognized brands.
Our first vehicle, R1, was our prototype; it demonstrated a goods-only autonomous vehicle in action for the very first time. After retiring R1, we introduced our second-generation vehicle, R2, in 2020. With R2, we added more cargo capacity (about 420 lbs), and enabled the vehicle to handle more varied conditions at a greater, city-wide scale. R2 is the zero-occupant vehicle you are most likely to see on roads today.
Our third and newest vehicle, Nuro R3, was unveiled in January 2022. We built R3 to be the first automotive grade delivery AV to be produced at scale with our manufacturing partner BYD. Nuro can fit even more cargo (24 bags of groceries or 500 lbs) and has modular compartments to keep meals hot and drinks cold. One of the biggest safety features of Nuro R3 is an external airbag — the first of its kind — designed to protect people outside the vehicle. This vehicle is currently in pre-production and testing, and will debut on public roads soon.
In addition to our zero-occupant vehicles, Nuro operates a Prius fleet consisting of a first-generation vehicle called P1 and the newest version, P2. These vehicles are equipped with the exact same sensor and compute capabilities as R2 and Nuro R3, respectively. Importantly, the Prius vehicles can accommodate safety drivers, who play an important role in testing new versions of our autonomy software. This is a crucial distinction, because R2 and Nuro have no space for passengers or drivers.
To enter a new market, Nuro first sends in the Prius fleet (with a safety operator on board) to map out neighborhoods for our autonomy software. This gives us the ability to test and validate with real world data gathered in our newest neighborhoods. Once we are ready to start making deliveries, the Prius vehicles are also deployed in autonomous mode to test and validate a smooth delivery experience.
As we continue to build our autonomy capabilities, this last step will change and our zero-occupant vehicles will take over all testing and validation from the Prius fleet. Soon, we will use our Prius fleet exclusively to map new neighborhoods, and our zero-occupant vehicles for everything from testing to scaling up deliveries in our service areas.
Together, our Prius vehicles, R2 and Nuro each represent an important stage of our progress in any given market. From exploring new neighborhoods to making deliveries, we will continue to rely on every vehicle in our fleet to safely introduce autonomous delivery in neighborhoods across the United States.
