Amazon Zoox Robotaxi is Nearing Launch—What to Expect From Autonomous Service?

One of the latest robotaxis on the US roads is Amazon's Zoox, and its recent limited testing is now reported to be nearing the actual launch of the service for public availability. After Amazon acquired Zoox four years ago, the new robotaxi company is now progressing towards its eventual operations, with its latest market centering on Nevada's Sin City, Las Vegas.

Zoox is also known for its operations in California, with Foster City and San Francisco, but it was recently embroiled in a controversy regarding its unexpected braking.

Amazon Zoox Robotaxi is Nearing Its Launch: Reports

A new report from Bloomberg claimed that Amazon's subsidiary featuring a robotaxi service, Zoox, will soon launch the autonomous ride-hailing experience to the public. The report claimed that Zoox could scale its robotaxi service with thousands of its self-driving vehicles on the road, operating a fleet across cities where it is licensed.

Currently, the self-driving service is testing in four locations. Its initial run centers on Seattle, then moves to California's San Francisco and Foster City, and finally to Nevada's Las Vegas.

It has not yet been revealed where Zoox will publicly launch, but its recent expansion to Las Vegas was its last step towards expanding its services further.

Zoox's Driverless Experience: Fully Autonomous

According to Bloomberg, Zoox's autonomous service is a fully driverless experience with no steering wheel controls or pedals. Additionally, its design replicates a train car, with the company referring to it as a purpose-built robotaxi that is not a regular car retrofitted with its technology.

In its testing, Zoox was able to integrate into traffic and take users to different pickup and drop-off points, showcasing its capabilities despite being a unique vehicle on the road.

Amazon Zoox and Its Growing Service

Zoox began testing the service in 2019, and the Amazon acquisition in 2020 saw a new direction for the company. Now, with massive backing, it has targeted a change in its base of operations towards Seattle. It was the initial base of operations for Zoox since the acquisition, close to Amazon's headquarters, which is also in the same city.

In the following years, Zoox tested its self-driving robotaxi service, which centers on a purpose-built electric vehicle that does not have a steering wheel, and users would be able to see how its system runs. Since then, Zoox has expanded its testing from Las Vegas to San Francisco and Seattle, and its new headquarters are in Foster City.

From retrofitting vehicles with its autonomous driving technology to delivering its iconic Zoox robotaxis, which seems to have no front or back ends and sliding doors similar to buses and trains, Zoox has been in the autonomous driving industry for five years and is now ramping up its technology for the wider stage, with its upcoming public launch coming soon.