Everyone right now is looking ahead to the future of mobility and transport, and what might be lying ahead. One of those companies is Zoox. They were acquired by Amazon in the middle of 2020, and it has not taken them long to reveal their first fully functional vehicle. Are you ready? Enter the…the Autonomous Electric Taxi. An electric, driverless taxi that is designed to be right at home in dense and urban environments. Tesla has led the way with this technology, but other companies are now starting to catch up. So, what exactly is Zoox and their upcoming taxi?
Autonomous Specialists
The company was founded in 2014, and they use a variety of technologies to create autonomous vehicles and aim to reinvent personal transportation. They utilize a combination of artificial intelligence, robotics, and vehicle design, and these come together to create a driverless taxi. The company sees itself heading towards autonomous driving for a cleaner and safer future for us all, although a lot of people worldwide have reservations over driverless vehicles.
The taxi has a carriage-like design, and it can seat four passengers who are seated face to face. There are no driving controls, with the whole vehicle being driverless and autonomically controlled. The speeds are incredibly impressive. Zoox claims that the autotaxi can reach 75 mph and has four-wheel steering, which will allow it to go into tight urban areas with ease, and circumnavigate any tricky corners it may encounter.
A Long-Lasting Battery
Charging wise, the electric-powered vehicle is said to be able to operate for 16 hours straight on a single charge, one of the biggest battery sizes currently available in the market. Safety-wise? Well, they claim it has 100 safety features not found on vehicles we drive ourselves.
The autotaxi is currently in the testing phase in three locations: Las Vegas, San Francisco, and Foster City. It might take some convincing though to get the vast majority of people to sign up to ride in a driverless vehicle. Many of us prefer the human element of control, no matter how clever and sophisticated the AI or robot in charge is.
Source: Zoox