Uber truck's first delivery: Video

Autonomous truck delivers 48,000 beers in the US

A self-driving truck developed by Otto, a subsidiary of Uber, recently made its first commercial delivery without a driver behind the wheel. The autonomous truck has delivered 2000 cases of Budwiser, covering 2000 kilometers across Colorado.

The truck started its journey on October 20 from the Anheuser-Busch facility located in Colorado and drove down the I-25 till it reached Colorado Springs. A driver was present in the truck to take over in case of emergency, but according to the company he didn't have to intervene throughout the trip. The truck was a Volvo equipped with sensors and cameras, and it successfully delivered the 48,000 frosty cans.

Transport officials at Colorado were briefed on the shipment and assisted in planning the route. The truck drove at an average speed of 90km/h on the highway. Even though the truck developed by Otto is completely autonomous, it still needs drivers for the deliveries.

While the delivery was more of a stunt than a real commercial delivery, and the truck was escorted by a police vehicle, it showed that autonomous deliveries are not far away.

"We wanted to show that the basic building blocks of the technology are here; we have the capability of doing that on a highway," said Lior Ron, the president and co-founder of Uber's Otto unit. "We are still in the development stages, iterating on the hardware and software."

Uber truck's first delivery: Video

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