Driverless Robotaxi Expands to More Cities
Amazon’s Zoox, a company that makes self-driving taxis, is testing its robotaxis in Nevada, Austin, and Miami. These tests are happening outside of their usual testing area in California. The company is working hard to offer safe and comfortable robotaxi rides.
Driverless Robotaxi Expands to More Cities
Zoox began offering rides to the public in Foster City, California, in February 2023. They also started giving rides in Las Vegas in June 2023. Their vehicle is the first designed specifically for driverless transportation, meaning it doesn’t need any human controls.
The initial route in Las Vegas was a one-mile loop near Zoox’s headquarters. The vehicle can carry four people and travel at a maximum speed of 35 mph (56.3 km/h). However, the autonomous vehicles can go up to 75 mph (120.7 km/h). Initially, Zoox employees took the test rides, with plans to expand to more people soon.
Driverless Robotaxi Expands to More Cities
Zoox has achieved significant breakthroughs in both software and hardware. The perception system of the EV has been improved to distinguish reflections from puddles and water droplets that might confuse the LiDAR sensors. Zoox has used big data to improve its robotaxi perception system for driving in adverse conditions and at different times of day.
Driverless Robotaxi Expands to More Cities
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) initiated a preliminary inquiry in May in response to two claims of Zoox vehicles braking unexpectedly, resulting in rear-end crashes with motorbikes that left people with minor injuries.
Driverless Robotaxi Expands to More Cities
Amazon paid USD 1.3 billion (Rs 10,837 crore) to take control of Zoox in 2020. Meanwhile, the company revealed on Wednesday that Austin and Miami will be its fourth and fifth public testing sites, respectively.
