ROME – Zoox, Amazon’s autonomous mobility startup, has announced that it has taken a journey with the world‘s first robotaxi built specifically for the transport of passengers on public roads. The company just completed the first run of its employee shuttle service in Foster City, California, marking the first time in history that a custom-built autonomous robot taxi without traditional driving controls has carried passengers on public roads. To achieve this milestone, Zoox performed rigorous tests on private roads and received approval from the California Department of Motor Vehicles to operate its robot taxi on the state’s public roads.
To date, Zoox is the only purpose-built robot taxi licensed to operate on California public roads and certified to meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). Zoox’s design, which does not include traditional on-board driving controls such as the steering wheel or pedals, integrated FMVSS performance requirements directly into the vehicle, while also adding more than one hundred safety innovations not available in today’s cars.
“Becoming the first company to circulate a purpose-built robotaxi with passengers on public roads in California is a significant milestone not only for Zoox’s journey, but for the autonomous vehicle industry at large,” said Aicha Evans, CEO of Zoox – Today, with the announcement of the first run of our autonomous employee shuttle, we add to the progress this industry has made over the past year and bring Zoox one step closer to commercializing a robotaxi service for the general public.” .
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The electric robotaxi is capable of transporting up to four people at a time on a public route between Zoox’s two main offices, traveling at up to 35mph and handling left and right turns, traffic lights, cyclists, pedestrians, the vehicles and other road events on this route. In accordance with California’s DMV permit, Zoox will provide the service to its employees first and as the company continues to progress and secure additional government clearances, it will expand the service to the general public.