Zoox rolls outs custom robotaxi in San Francisco, Las Vegas

Date:

Share post:


Zoox is testing its custom robotaxis, which are built without a steering wheel or pedals, on public roads in San Francisco and the Las Vegas Strip. 

The rollout of the autonomous vehicles, which Zoox CTO Jesse Levinson first announced at TechCrunch Disrupt, is a public show of force from the Amazon-backed company. Federal regulations prohibit the use of AVs built without human controls for commercial operations. Companies can apply for exemptions, but Zoox has not done so. The company says it has self-certified its AVs, a claim that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is actively investigating.

NHTSA’s rules around vehicles meeting certain safety standards include a “testing and evaluation” exception called the FAST Act, which could be how Zoox is navigating this regulatory minefield. Zoox did not confirm or deny its use of the Fast Act, and NHTSA didn’t respond in time to TechCrunch to provide clarification. 

If Zoox is relying on the FAST Act today to roll out its toaster-looking AVs, then it still has some time before it needs to deal with NHTSA again. The company will initially only ferry employees around the SoMa neighborhood of SF and on the Strip and surrounding areas of Vegas. In 2025, Zoox plans to test with early public riders as part of a so-called “Zoox Explorer” program.



Source link

Lisa Holden
Lisa Holden
Lisa Holden is a news writer for LinkDaddy News. She writes health, sport, tech, and more. Some of her favorite topics include the latest trends in fitness and wellness, the best ways to use technology to improve your life, and the latest developments in medical research.

Recent posts

Related articles

AI pioneer Francois Chollet leaves Google

Francois Chollet, a leading figure in the AI world, is leaving Google after close to a decade....

Amazon’s telehealth platform adds low-cost plans for hair loss, skin care, and more

Amazon One Medical is expanding its telehealth services with the launch of upfront and low-cost treatment plans...

Sales tax automation startup Kintsugi doubled its valuation this year

A 2018 Supreme Court ruling eliminated the requirement that an e-commerce retailer needed a physical location in...

Snapchat will soon be able to alert parents when their teen leaves or arrives at certain locations

Snapchat is bringing enhanced location sharing to Family Center, its parental controls hub, the company announced Thursday. Users...

PayPal once again lets you pool money from others to pay for things together

PayPal is launching a few features that let users in groups pool money with friends or family,...

US confirms China-backed hackers breached telecom providers to steal wiretap data

The U.S. government has confirmed that hackers with links to China breached multiple U.S. telecommunication service providers...

Tessl raises $125M at at $500M+ valuation to build AI that writes and maintains code

Many startups and larger tech companies have taken a crack at building artificial intelligence to code software....

Atlas.co wants its web-based mapping tool to be the Figma of geospatial data

Startup inspiration can strike anywhere. But for Atlas.co*, a freemium browser-based, real-time mapping tool that’s being built...