A Burlingame, California company called udelv made the world’s first public road test deliveries on Jan. 30 using its autonomous, last-mile delivery vehicle. The vehicle made deliveries from Draeger’s Market in San Mateo, California to two nearby customers.

The vehicle, which was supervised by a safety driver and in test mode to stay compliant with existing California regulations, traveled on a 2.5-mile loop that included traffic lights, lane changes, unsignalized left turns and two delivery stops. According to udelv, the vehicle's journey was accomplished “flawlessly.”

Built on a fully electric powertrain, the “distinctive orange customized vehicle” features 18 secure cargo compartments with automatic doors using a “cloud-based proprietary technology that is shared between the vehicle, customers and merchants.” The vehicle can drive for up to 60 miles per cycle and can load up to 700 pounds of cargo, in its current configuration.

A dedicated application is available on iOS to track and potentially reschedule deliveries. An android version is expected to be released soon.

In an effort to “complement its autonomous driving technology and ensure reliability of the service,” udelv has also created an “ultra-low latency teleoperations system” to remotely monitor and control the vehicles, and allow for overrides and human-assisted guidance in “unique situations.”

udelv believes that its new vehicle will lead to a dramatic drop in the cost of local deliveries. The company also believes that its new vehicle will add delivery window flexibility and significantly reduce carbon footprint. According to udelv, clean and affordable deliveries, along with returns made easy, will “meaningfully improve people’s daily lives.”

“This is a historic revolution in transportation. We are reinventing deliveries,” says Daniel Laury, CEO of udelv. “I am very proud that udelv is first and leads this revolution.”

Richard Draeger, owner, Draeger’s Market, says, “we look forward to adding the udelv autonomous vehicle and its cost reduction factor to our delivery fleet.”

udelv plans on testing dozens of its autonomous delivery vehicles on the roads in a few states within a short timeframe. The company is planning to use a subscription business model to roll out its vehicle fleet.