US supermarket chain Kroger has expanded its collaboration with autonomous delivery company Nuro with the launch of the California robotics company’s third-generation vehicle.

In 2018, Kroger, America’s largest grocery retailer, and Nuro announced a partnership to deliver fresh groceries with all-electric, autonomous vehicles.

“Our expanded collaboration with Nuro supports Kroger’s commitment to provide fresh food, at a great value, all without asking our customers to compromise,” said Yael Cosset, Kroger’s chief information officer. “The role of autonomous vehicles in our seamless ecosystem continues to increase, contributing to meeting our customers in the context of their day without compromising on the quality or value, while contributing to our long-term growth and sustainability goals.”

Leveraging the third-generation vehicles, Kroger will continue to grow its digital offerings in Houston, one of the largest cities in the USA, building on its commitment to anything, anytime, anywhere. Grocery delivery through autonomous vehicles offers customer-focused convenience regardless of basket size.

“We are thrilled to expand our longstanding strategic partnership with Kroger and further our shared vision for the future of goods delivery,” said Dave Ferguson, Nuro co-founder and president. “We look forward to leveraging our third-generation, and most advanced, autonomous vehicle to date to continue to build on the success of this programme.”

The grocer says it is committed to making it simple for its customers to find the grocery items they crave without compromising on freshness or value. Its ecosystem supports customers who want to shop online, in-store or a combination of both to support the needs of each day.

“We are excited to expand our collaboration with Nuro here in Houston, one of the largest cities in the USA,” said Laura Gump, president of Kroger’s Houston division. “Our associates, customers and city embrace innovation and we are thrilled to be able to soon provide this enterprising grocery delivery service to even more shoppers across the region.”

The adoption of all-electric vehicles is aligned with Kroger’s commitment to reduce corporate greenhouse gas emissions, and allows its customers to choose delivery options that help them reduce their climate impacts.

The new vehicle is about 20% smaller in width than average passenger cars. This gives bicyclists and pedestrians more room to manoeuvre alongside the bot. A custom external pedestrian airbag across the front reduces the force of impact and number of injuries in the event of collision.

The compartments are designed to hold nearly everything and to keep individual orders separate and secure. And a large touchscreen allows the design of kerbside commerce experiences such as mobile marketplaces.

The 0.76m³ compartments combined can fit about 24 bags of groceries and handle almost 225kg. Modular inserts that fit inside the compartments allow for heating and cooling, with a range of temps from -5 to +47˚C, which means pizza stays warm and soda stays cool.

The model will be able to reach a top operating speed of 72kmph.

The vehicles are already completely battery-electric and emission-free, but in the new vehicle it is using 100% renewable electricity from wind farms in Texas to power the fleet and to reduce the overall carbon footprint. And materials adhere to strict sourcing and supply chain standards meant to protect the natural environment.

The new model contains a network of sensors that work together to give an in-depth, 360˚ view of the world in which it operates.

Kroger employs nearly half a million people who serve more than 11 million customers daily under a variety of banner names.

Nuro’s custom electric autonomous vehicles are designed to bring goods from produce to prescriptions right to people’s homes. It has piloted autonomous local delivery for communities in Texas, Arizona and California.