Mobileye, an Intel company, and Udelv, a Silicon Valley venture-backed company, has announced that its self-driving system will ‘drive’ the next-generation Udelv autonomous delivery vehicles (ADV), called ‘Transporters’. The companies plan to produce more than 35,000 Mobileye-driven Transporters by 2028, with commercial operations beginning in 2023.
Donlen, one of America’s largest commercial fleet management companies, has placed the first pre-order for 1,000 Transporters. This pre-order is believed to be the largest to date for an autonomous delivery vehicle.
Mobileye says the deal signals the ‘commercial readiness of Mobileye Drive for large-scale deployment in the movement of goods and people and maturity of Udelv’s delivery technology’.
Prof. Amnon Shashua, Mobileye president and CEO, says: “Our deal with Udelv is significant for its size, scope and rapid deployment timeline, demonstrating our ability to deliver Mobileye Drive™ for commercial use now and in volume. COVID-19 has accelerated demand for autonomous goods delivery, and we are delighted to partner with Udelv to address this demand in the near term.”
Daniel Laury, CEO and co-founder of Udelv, adds: “Mobileye is the only company providing a full-stack self-driving system with commercial viability and scale today. The readiness of Mobileye Drive™, along with its vast map coverage of North America, Europe and Asia, will allow us to ramp up the production and deployment of Udelv Transporters and rapidly offer the service at scale to our expanding list of customers.”
“We are thrilled to be the first customer for the Udelv Transporter,” comments Tom Callahan, president of Donlen. “The combination of Udelv’s zero-emissions Transporter and automated delivery management system with Mobileye Drive™ will enable sweeping delivery cost reductions, make our roads safer, and lower carbon emissions across America.”
Mobileye plans to begin operating an autonomous ride-hailing service in Israel in early 2022.
Founded in California in 2017 by Daniel Laury and CTO Akshat Patel, Udelv successfully accomplished the first ever autonomous delivery on public roads in 2018. Udelv has since completed over 20,000 deliveries for multiple merchants in California, Arizona, and Texas.
Keyword: Intel’s Mobileye And U.S. Start-up Udelv Announce Autonomous Delivery Deal