Ford Motor Company, Argo AI and Walmart have collaborated on plans for a driverless delivery service fleet in Miami; Washington, D.C.; and Austin, Texas, using Ford’s autonomous test vehicles that have the Argo AI Self-Driving System embedded to deliver Walmart orders.
The new service means Walmart customers in parts of those cities can place orders online for groceries and other items for door-to-door autonomous delivery.
“Our focus on the testing and development of self-driving technology that operates in urban areas where customer demand is high really comes to life with this collaboration,” Argo AI Founder and CEO Bryan Salesky said in the joint announcement. “Working together with Walmart and Ford across three markets, we’re showing the potential for autonomous vehicle delivery services at scale.”
The service will be available to Walmart customers within defined service areas of the three initial cities and the offering will expand over time, with plans to begin the initial integration testing later this year.
“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,” Tom Ward, Walmart U.S. senior vice president of last-mile delivery, said in the announcement.
Argo will integrate its cloud-based infrastructure with Walmart’s online ordering platform to ensure orders and package deliveries arrive as scheduled.
“Pairing Walmart’s retail and e-commerce leadership with Argo and Ford’s self-driving operations across these multiple cities marks a significant step toward scaling a commercial goods delivery service that will ultimately power first-to-scale business efficiencies and enable a great consumer experience,” Scott Griffith, CEO, Ford Autonomous Vehicles and Mobility Businesses, said in the announcement.
Argo and Ford have tested self-driving technology in Pittsburgh, Detroit and Palo Alto, Calif., Argo and had the service available in Miami and Washington, D.C., since 2018 and in Austin since 2019. Walmart tested autonomous delivery with Ford in Miami in 2018.
Related: Ford, Argo AI, Lyft To Launch Self-Driving Car Service By Year’s End
In July, Argo AI, Lyft and Ford Motor Company announced that they’ll roll out 1,000 self-driving cars over the next five years. Argo AI and Ford will release Ford self-driving cars with safety drivers, through Lyft. Passenger rides are expected to begin in Miami this year and in Austin starting in 2022.
Earlier this year, Lyft announced it’s selling its self-driving division to Woven Planet, a subsidiary of Toyota, for $550 million.
Also Read: Walmart, Gatik Expand Self-Driving Truck Test To Louisiana; Arkansas Test Will Now Be Driverless
In December, Walmart announced that autonomous delivery network Gatik will operate a driverless box truck on one route in Arkansas between a dark store and a Neighborhood Market in Bentonville, Ark., an expansion of the autonomous vehicle pilot launched last year.
