Asda will be delivering groceries to customers in a self driving vehicle from today as part of a new year-long trial.
The big four supermarket announced the partnership with the technology firm Wayve today.
The trial will see the firm's self-driving cars join Asda’s existing online delivery operation at the Park Royal superstore in West London.
From today, 170,000 customers in the catchment area will be randomly selected to have their order delivered by Wayve's driverless Jaguar I-Pace electric car.
Around 72,000 households could have their shopping delivered this way over the next year.
The supermarket chain says the delivery trial is the "largest" in the UK.
Asda said that its Park Royal customers should place their delivery orders online as usual, choosing a delivery slot which suits them.
The only difference is they may have their grocery order delivered in a self-driving vehicle.
During the 12-month trial, an Asda colleague and a supervising Wayve safety driver will be in the vehicle when making deliveries.
Asda employees will then unload the groceries at the customer’s home.
Wayve’s AV2.0 system uses machine learning to train its AI software to learn how to drive in any environment, according to the company.
Asda also said that the system was “designed to constantly monitor the road, identifying potential hazards and making the safest decisions possible”.
If the Park Royal trial is successful, Asda said Wayve would be able to offer autonomous delivery in further locations across the UK.
Simon Gregg, vice president of eCommerce at Asda, said: “Asda has long understood the value of bringing tech innovation to the online grocery sector and we are always looking at new and innovative partnerships to improve delivery options for customers.
"We believe autonomous technology is an exciting opportunity to shape the future of delivery, not only at our Park Royal store but throughout our nationwide operation.
“Through our partnership with Wayve, we are trialling this technology to understand how it can assist our busy store operations, whilst also adding a unique, reliable and efficient option for Asda customers to have a whole range of products delivered to their doors.”
