Zoox Self-Driving Car Approved in California (Video)

The 100% autonomous Zoox car without pedals or steering wheel completed a 1.6 km journey on public roads. A first!

Zoox is a subsidiary of Amazon, specializing in the development of autonomous vehicles. Its first achievement is transforming the hybrid Toyota Highlander into a self-driving version. But Zoox’s main goal is the robot taxi market.

“Being the first passenger in the world in a robotaxi without manual controls on open public roads, with Aicha (Note: Aicha Evans was appointed CEO of Zoox in January 2019), was one of the highlights of my life. But what made me the happiest was seeing the radiant smiles of our team members when they finished their trips. I can’t wait for everyone to experience this magic.” These were the words of Jesse Levinson, Co-Founder and CTO of Zoox, on the occasion of the first test run of their 100% autonomous vehicle.

The company offered its employees the opportunity to test the autonomous shuttle under real conditions, allowing them to share their impressions and suggest improvements. On board, the Zoox can carry up to four passengers, with opposing rows of seats to give the impression of being in a lounge. The shuttle can reach a respectable speed of 56 km/h.

To add weight to Zoox’s efforts, the company has received approval from the California Department of Motor Vehicles to operate robot taxis on open roads with passengers on board.

The beginning of a new era?

“This is an important step for Zoox and the autonomous vehicle industry as a whole. It is a testament to our vision and the dedication, focus, and hard work of our team,” finally concludes Aïcha Evans.

Zoox is not the only company working in this field; Cruise (a subsidiary of General Motors) and Waymo (a subsidiary of Alphabet) are also developing driverless car projects. Taxis and ride-hailing services are not going to be happy…

Read also: Google’s autonomous car continues its journey