Wayve is partnering with supermarket Asda to deliver groceries from its Park Royal superstore in West London using self-driving vehicles.
The year-long trial Asda will serve an area of 72,000 households and is the largest trial of its kind in the UK, according to Wayve.
A Wayve safety driver will accompany Asda delivery drivers for the trial, with the vehicle driving from the shop to the customer’s house.
“The trial is a demonstration of how autonomy can meet fleet owner needs,” says Alex Kendall, co-founder and CEO of Wayve.
“We started developing our AV technology over five years ago: it’s incredible to see it delivering real value today as part of Asda’s daily operations.”
Headquartered in London, Wayve to date has raised more than $258m, with support coming from Microsoft, Sir Richard Branson and Ocado Group.
“Trials like this one accelerate our road to deployment. They provide the learnings required to bring the benefits of AV technology to customers sooner while ensuring that businesses, like Asda, are prepared to deploy AVs at scale,” said Kendall.
Wayve’s self-driving is based on previous drives and improves through machine learning. Unlike other solutions, it means Wayve’s solution does not depend on maps and can drive in completely new areas.
Asda is also part of a consortium developing a self-driving, hydrogen-powered truck with Glasgow-based HVS.
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