Thanks to one self-driving robo-truck driving through Colorado, a lot of residents got to quench their thirst with a nice, cold Budweiser. Last week, Otto, a self-driving truck start up based out of the San Francisco area, teamed up with Anheuser-Busch to successfully make its first autonomous delivery.
The truck reportedly delivered a semi-tractor full of beer from Fort Collins, traveling through Denver and southern Colorado. But don't worry, a driver was on board of the truck; he just didn't operate behind the wheel for the majority of the 120-mile trip, according to USA Today.
For those nonbelievers who still can't wrap their heads around an autonomous truck, a video released by Otto shows the massive 53-foot truck cruising down the highway with 2,000 cases of beer moving around in the trailer. "The initial appeal for us was to see how we could meet the needs of a company like Anheuser-Busch," Otto co-founder Lior Ron told USA Today. "But now after this successful test, we're eager to see how it will handle other roads and other weather."
Otto's self-driving vehicles have been confined to highways only for now, and human drivers are required to take over the vehicle in city traffic. But the startup, which was founded earlier in 2016, has already been purchased by Uber for $670 million in an attempt to boost the car service's self-driving tech initiative, according to reports.
Prior to the truck embarking on its first autonomous trip, the Colorado Department of Transportation (DOT) worked with Otto for months, evaluating the company's technology and participating in test runs before agreeing to let Otto take to the open road. While the issue of safety is still of great importance, DOT seems to think that Otto is more than capable of being deployed nationwide. "Safety remained our primary concern, but we believe that in this case the driver is the automated system itself," Amy Ford, spokeswoman for the Colorado DOT said. "We'd like to help get this tech deployed in the real world."
Otto joins other self-driving car tests by Google, Uber, and Ford in California and Arizona. But by contrast to Otto, its competitors still require a safety driver to remain at the wheel in case of emergencies on highways and are heavily regulated by a number of policies.
Related Stories
California Will Allow Self-Driving Cars on the Road This Fall
California has approved testing for self-driving cars on public roads beginning September 16.
The US Government Is Prepared to Invest $16 Billion in Self-Driving Cars
The US Government will make a $16 billion loan program available to companies working on self-driving cars.
If You Ever Wondered How Google's Self-Driving Cars Drive Through Cities, Here's How
Google released a video showcasing how its self-driving cars work while driving through a city.
