Nuro's R2 became the first driverless delivery vehicle cleared for US roads

By 2020, Nuro, founded by two former Google engineers, had spent years testing its low-speed autonomous delivery pods. The R2 was its second generation: an egg-shaped, occupantless electric vehicle with two temperature-controlled compartments, designed to run local deliveries for restaurants and grocers.

US vehicle rules were written for cars with drivers, so mirrors and a windshield made no sense on a machine with no one inside. Nuro petitioned NHTSA for an exemption from low-speed vehicle standards, and in February 2020 the agency granted it: up to 5,000 R2s over two years, with mandatory reporting and required outreach to the communities where it would operate.

The logic was that removing unneeded parts is not a safety downgrade. The R2 relied on the same automated driving system as the earlier compliant vehicle, and its 25 mph cap made driver-oriented features irrelevant, so NHTSA kept extra oversight because the design was novel.