The battery can last 16 hours on a single charge and it does not require a driver.
Zoox unveiled its first fully-functional, autonomous electric vehicle after being acquired by Amazon in mid-2015. This autonomous subsidiary of Amazon.com, Inc. said that the driverless taxi was designed for urban environments.
The release states that Zoox was established in 2014 using a combination artificial intelligence, robotics and vehicle design to revolutionize personal transportation. They envision a safer, cleaner and more enjoyable future.
The U.S.-built autonomous robotaxi Zoox has a carriage design that can hold up to four people seated face-toface. The taxi is totally autonomous and has no steering wheel. It can travel at speeds up to 75 mph (121 km/h) and has four-wheel steering. It measures only 3.63m (12 feet) in length and can be redirected without needing to go backwards.
A 133 kWh battery provides power, allowing Zoox’s robotaxi 16 hours of continuous operation on one charge. This is the largest battery on the market.
The Zoox autonomous taxi claims to have 100 safety features, which are not found in normal vehicles with drivers. The tech toys include an envelope-airbag for carriage seating. This is said to be equivalent to a five star crash safety rating for all four of the seats. It also makes use of a combination camera, radar and LIDAR to provide a 270-degree view from all four corners, effectively eliminating blind spots.
Aicha Evans (Zox Chief Executive Officer) stated that “revealing our functioning vehicle and driving it is an exciting milestone in the company’s history, and marks an important step towards deploying an autonomous ride hailing service.”
The Zoox driverless taxi currently is in testing in Las Vegas, San Francisco and Foster City.