Walmart will begin testing an autonomous vehicle delivery service this year that will allow customers to place orders online and have their groceries delivered by a driverless car.
The pilot program is being launched in Austin, Texas; Miami, Florida: and Washington D.C.
It's a partnership between the $560-billion mega-retailer and Ford, which will provide Ford Escape hybrids outfitted with Argo AI technology to make the deliveries.
Argo AI, a co-venture between Ford and Volkswagen, will provide the cloud-based infrastructure to schedule drop-offs and safely route orders.
Focusing on those three metro areas will show 'the potential for autonomous vehicle delivery services at scale,' said Argo AI founder Bryan Salesky.
Initial integration testing is expected to begin later this year, the companies said, and the service initially will be limited to specific areas in each city before being expanded over time.
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Walmart will begin testing an autonomous vehicle delivery service this year that will allow customers to place orders online and have their groceries delivered by a driverless car
'We're excited to expand our autonomous delivery efforts in three new markets alongside Argo and Ford,' Tom Ward, Walmart SVP of customer product, said in a statement.
'This collaboration will further our mission to get products to the homes of our customers with unparalleled speed and ease, and in turn, will continue to pave the way for autonomous delivery.'
The pilot project illustrates how much both Walmart and Ford are investing in autonomous vehicle technology.
The two companies previously partnered on a limited test run with Postmates in Miami in 2018, Tech Crunch reported, using 'simulated self-driving vehicles' to make drop offs to analyze user experience.
