Nuro delivery vehicles will be deployed in parts of the Bay
Area
The deployment permit grants Nuro permission to use a fleet of
light-duty driverless vehicles for a commercial delivery service on
surface streets within designated parts of the Bay Area.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has issued the
state’s first autonomous vehicle deployment permit to Nuro,
allowing the company to charge a fee and receive compensation for
its driverless delivery service.
Unlike an autonomous testing permit, which limits the
compensation that a manufacturer can receive from the public while
validating the technology on public roads, a deployment permit
authorises a company to make its autonomous technology commercially
available outside of a testing programme.
Light-duty vehicles
The deployment permit grants Nuro permission to use a fleet of
light-duty driverless vehicles for a commercial delivery service on
surface streets within designated parts of Santa Clara and San
Mateo counties, which includes the cities of Atherton, East Palo
Alto, Los Altos Hills, Los Altos, Menlo Park, Mountain View, Palo
Alto, Sunnyvale and Woodside.
The vehicles have a maximum speed of 25mph and are only approved
to operate in fair weather conditions on streets with a speed limit
of no more than 35mph.
Nuro has had state authority to test autonomous vehicles on
public roads with a safety driver since 2017 and received a
driverless testing permit in April 2020.
âIssuing the first deployment permit is a significant
milestone in the evolution of autonomous vehicles in California,â
said DMV director Steve Gordon. âWe will continue to keep the
safety of the motoring public in mind as this technology
develops.â
Under state law established in 2012, the DMV is required to
adopt regulations covering both the testing and public use of
autonomous vehicles on California roadways. Regulations to allow
for the deployment of autonomous vehicles were adopted and took
effect on in April 2018. Regulations allowing for light-duty
autonomous delivery vehicles weighing less than 10,001 pounds were
approved in December 2019.
In order to receive a deployment permit, manufacturers must
certify they meet a number of safety, insurance and vehicle
registration requirements, including:
- identifying the operational design domain of the vehicles, as
well as describing any commonly occurring restricted conditions
within which the vehicles would not be able to operate - verifying the technology is capable of detecting and responding
to roadway situations in compliance with the California Vehicle
Code, and describing how the vehicle meets the definition of an SAE
Level 3, 4 or 5 autonomous technology - verifying the vehicles meet federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standards or have an exemption from the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration - certifying the manufacturer has conducted test and validation
methods and is satisfied that the autonomous vehicles are safe for
deployment on California public roads - developing a Law Enforcement Interaction Plan that provides
information to law enforcement and other first responders on how to
interact with the autonomous vehicles.
Originally published by
Smart Cities World
News Team | December 4, 2021