AutoX Rolls Out Self-Driving Grocery Delivery System

The “last mile” problem has long been an issue for any retailer working online, whether they accept mobile payments or not. While the concept of drone aircraft is appealing to many, regulatory hassles make this virtually impossible to use in any meaningful fashion. The self-driving car, meanwhile, poses an excellent potential opportunity, one that we’ve seen crop up more than once. AutoX, a recent California startup, is joining the self-driving car delivery stakes with its own offering.

Right now, AutoX’s services aren’t exactly widespread. It’s working effectively out of a few neighborhoods in San Jose, reports note, but it will function effectively as a mobile store. Customers download the AutoX app and shop for fruits, vegetables, and perishable goods. The groceries selected are stored in a “temperature-controlled environment,” making it effectively a self-driving refrigerator.

Jianxiong Xiao, founder and CEO of AutoX, noted “We’re very excited to launch the first autonomous grocery delivery and mobile store service in the heart of Silicon Valley with self-driving vehicles on the road. It’s the first step of our mission to democratize autonomy, and is a testament to our cutting edge AI and all its potential capabilities. We believe self-driving car technologies will fundamentally change people’s daily lives for the better.”

A clever idea, and for a place like San Jose that doesn’t see a lot of inclement weather, probably a good one. The idea of a self-driving car stuffed with groceries on, say, icy or slush-covered roads in a Wisconsin winter, however, might not work so well. Of course, a drone aircraft might have similar problems with weather, so that’s worth noting. Still, the idea of a self-driving grocery delivery car certainly has its place. It works well in congested urban environments and doesn’t do much anything a regular car doesn’t. While customers will have to go out of their houses to pick up the delivered groceries, that’s a minor headache at best.

Delivered food is a great thing, and with self-driving cars, we may well see more places go to delivery options to provide this service where it wasn’t offered before. That’s good news for anyone who’s just now getting into delivery, and hopefully, we’ll all see more delivery options soon with mobile payments, automated vehicles, and forward-thinking operations like AutoX.