Walmart has announced a new pilot project with Udelv to test autonomous vehicle technology in Surprise, Arizona.

During the pilot, fresh groceries hand-picked by Walmart’s personal shoppers will be delivered to customers by Udelv, using a cargo van custom-made to deliver the items.

“We’re still learning – it’s a pilot – but, we want to make sure we stay on the cutting edge of grocery delivery by exploring what’s new and next,” Walmart says.

​In addition to its pilot with Walmart, Udelv also debuted the latest model of its self-driving delivery vans—featuring new state of-the-art technology—this week during CES 2019.

Udelv says that the Newton autonomous driving technology is the most advanced autonomous delivery van (ADV) out there today, thanks in large part to Udelv working closely with Baidu on Apollo 3.5, which is an open autonomous driving platform that was released by Baidu during CES.  

Udelv says that the Newton follows Udelv’s first generation ADV model, which has completed more than 1200 deliveries in the San Francisco Bay Area for a number of clients. Apollo 3.5 will be featured in Udelv’s latest Newton model.

“To date, with its automated cargo van, Udelv has proven its capacity to successfully address the delivery market in the United States in both the last and middle-mile segments,” says Udelv CEO Daniel Laury.

“We’re the world’s most advanced autonomous delivery company on public roads and America’s top retailers trust us to deliver convenience and savings to their customers.”

Udelv says that up to 100 of its ADVs will be deployed throughout the year for customers who have ordered the vehicles.