United States drivers will one day share the road with autonomous, last-mile delivery vehicles, according to new company entering the market. Burlingame, CA-based Udelv just announced it will host a public-road autonomous delivery test in San Mateo, CA, within the next few weeks.
According to Udelv, the vehicle will operate in compliance with existing California regulations and will be supervised by a safety driver and in test mode.
“Udelv anticipates that its new vehicle will bring forth a dramatic drop in the cost of local deliveries, add delivery window flexibility and significantly reduce carbon footprint,” the company noted. “Clean and affordable deliveries, combined with returns made easy, will meaningfully enhance people’s daily lives.”
The company explained that its goal is to test dozens of Udelv vehicles on the roads in a few states within a short timeframe.
Led by CEO Daniel Laury and chief technology officer Akshat Patel, a former Tesla and Apple engineering team member, Udelv is listed on the California DMV Autonomous Vehicle Tester Program under the name of CarOne LLC. The company is funded by a group of investors that includes U.S. and international venture capital funds as well as private investors.
“McKinsey estimates that 80% of all package deliveries will be autonomous in the next decade,” Laury said. “I am very proud that Udelv will make history as the very first custom-made, public-road autonomous delivery vehicle. Our mission is to improve people’s lives. We will be releasing a continuous stream of innovations to fulfill that promise.”