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Kroger Begins Autonomous Grocery Deliveries (adweek.com)
Kroger is launching its unmanned grocery delivery service in Scottsdale, Arizona. The company first announced the pilot with robotics company Nuro in June, and since August, "they have tested an autonomous fleet of 'a handful of' Priuses with safety drivers just in case someone needed to intervene," reports Adweek. "Together, they have completed nearly 1,000 deliveries in Scottsdale." From the report: Now, Kroger is adding two R1 unmanned vehicles to its fleet, which Nuro designed to transport goods on public roads without passengers and marks the first deployment of its technology for the general public. (The Priuses will continue to have safety drivers.) To start, deliveries are available from a single store in the "Kroger Family," the Fry's Food Store at 7770 East McDowell Road. A Kroger rep said customers who live within the store's zip code -- 85257 -- will have access to the service. Customers place orders online or via the Fry's app. An announcement said same- and next-day delivery is available. All orders have a $5.95 fee, but there is no minimum for order total.
Okay I went through every link presented on this page, saw nothing that says anything like that. So I'm going to ask for a source here to back that claim up. I'm not, not believing you, but that's pretty outrageous and I'd like that outrage to well founded.
Get a (very?) smart fridge. It automatically orders milk, meat, veggies, and such for you and Kroger delivers. (Now they need to add an additional fee to place it in the fridge. Electronic door lock, too) When it expires, the fridge orders more. The stock computer in the other room trades when it can make a profit.
ASS U ME ing it can make a large enough profit for electrical power and internet (WiFi / 4G) connection for all devices, then we can finally outsource all them people living in houses and move them all elsewhere.
What a clean and tidy and shiny world it'll be! I'm looking forward to seeing it all!
Oh, wait....
If the universe is someone's simulation -- does that mean the stars are just stuck pixels?
When I see the open vehicle in the photo, what immediately comes to mind is someone removing everyone's groceries, filling the space up with all their trash, and sending the vehicle on its way. Possibly first they might have to register a bogus account at a real address.
I imagine a more realistic delivery vehicle would, on scanning the proper QR code for the order that corresponds to the delivery address, excrete filled bags of groceries. It could have an arm of hooks that lowers until it's not supporting any grocery weight and rotates to disengage the bags. Then, the vehicle drives from over the top of the delivery spot.