CHICAGO, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- Ford Motor Co. and Domino's Pizza began a test on Tuesday to use self-driving vehicle to deliver pizzas to their customers.
The Detroit based automaker is providing a self-driving Ford Fusion Hybrid car equipped with Ford's full suite of cameras, sensors, radar for testing in Ann Arbor city of Michigan state for about a month and a half.
However, the car will not be operated in autonomous mode. One Ford engineer hidden behind tinted windows will drive the car, and another will monitor input from the car's hardware.
It will not be the first experiment with advanced pizza delivery technology. Australia-based Domino's Pizza has tested delivery to customers in New Zealand via drone and self-driving robot.
"We're interested to learn what people think about this type of delivery," said Russell Weiner, president of Domino's U.S.A.
Sherif Marakby, Ford vice president, said "As a company focused on the customer experience, Domino's shares our vision for a future enabled by smart vehicles in a smart environment that enhance people's lives."
Previously, Ford CEO Jim Hackett said the company expected to launch a self-driving vehicle for commercial ride-sharing fleets in 2021.
A single purchase
