insiderblmA few hours ago, the Zoox company, a subsidiary of Amazon , shared the first images of its so-called ‘robotaxi’ . The first autonomous electric vehicle of Jeff Bezos’ company has been in development for 6 years and, although it will not be sold to the public, it seeks to compete with Uber and DiDi.
This 3.63 meter long self-driving car is operated by artificial intelligence and can maneuver in compact spaces. It stands out for being bidirectional , that is, it can be driven forward or backward without the need to go back.
The Zoox reaches a speed of 120 km / h in both directions and can run for 16 hours uninterrupted per recharge. It uses 133 kWh batteries, larger than those currently used by Tesla, whose Model S vehicles have 85 kWh batteries.
It is equipped with more than 100 security innovations, such as a camera system with a 270 ° field of view at each corner, which can see 150 meters from different angles. This allows the ‘robotaxi’ to detect all objects around it, eliminating dangerous blind spots .
Image: Amazon via Zoox.
Amazon’s smart car has four passenger seats , each equipped with a mobile device charger and cup holders. However, what is most striking is that each seat has a touch screen from where you can control the music, the air conditioning and see the route of the trip. Also, the vehicle’s canopy has a starry sky pattern.
Before thinking about buying it, you should know that the Zoox will not be for sale for private use. According to Bloomberg , the company plans to put it into circulation exclusively for public and private passenger transport, making it a potential competition for companies in the sector such as Uber and DiDi.
Image: Amazon via Zoox.
Zoox was founded in 2014 and since then has been developing autonomous vehicles, which can move around without a driver using a mobile application. Amazon acquired Zoox just six months ago, in June 2020, and operates as an independent subsidiary.
Although they have not given an exact date for their hitting the streets, the company is currently testing the self-driving electric cars in San Francisco and Foster City, California, as well as in Las Vegas, Nevada.
