an autonomous vehicle is disclosed . the vehicle comprises a chassis , two or more drive wheels extending below the chassis , a drive motor housed within the chassis for driving the drive wheels , and a payload surface on top of the chassis for carrying a payload . an illumination system , for emitting light from at least one portion of the chassis , is mounted substantially around the entire perimeter of the chassis . the illumination system may be implemented using an array of light - emitting diodes that are arranged as segments . for example , there may be “ headlight ” segments on the front left and front right corners of the chassis .