Watch Uber's Self-Driving Trucks Make a Beer Run

Otto, the self-driving truck company owned by Uber, recently completed what it claims was the first commercial delivery by a self-driving vehicle. A truck outfitted with Otto's autonomous driving technology shipped a truckload of Budweiser beer from Fort Collins, Co. to Colorado Springs, a distance of about 120 miles. Otto says the truck drove hands-free from exit to exit, though a human driver was in the cab for local streets and to take over in case of an emergency. Other Otto vehicles pre-mapped the route ahead of time, which followed Colorado's I-25. Some naysayers may consider that cheating, but it highlights an advantage of self-driving trucking fleets: As one such vehicle travels along a particular route, it can send mapping and other data to vehicles behind it as a helpful status update.