Google says it doesn't want to become a car maker. But it never said anything about becoming a truck maker.
As first reported in Quartz, a recent patent was granted to Google for an “autonomous distribution platform” that hints that it has other ambitions for self-driving technology.
The idea seems to be a rolling set of secured lockers. Specifically, the idea is that Google would send a delivery to a customer, the customer would step out into the truck and unlock the locker with their order either with a code, a credit card, or a Near Field Communication (NFC) card reader, which smartphone . After the customer retrieves their item, the truck would continue on to the next delivery point.
The delivery truck is a clear plan to compete with Amazon's drone delivery plan. While it certainly sounds like science fiction, people are much more used to seeing delivery trucks driving around than they are to seeing drones flying overhead. So, by that fact alone, Google's autonomous vehicles already have an advantage.
This patent is ready to go into effect following a recent revelation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that finds that self-driving systems can be considered "drivers" under federal law.
With this decision and this new patent granted, the chances of self-driving trucks hitting the road in the near future just got a lot bigger!
