Zoox Unveils New Autonomous Vehicle Designed for Large-Scale Production
Quick Look
- Amazon-owned Zoox revealed a new version of its autonomous vehicle, designed for large-scale production.
- The updated robotaxi features improved rider comfort with ergonomic seating, a lighter interior palette, enhanced visibility with rotating bidirectional reflectors, and two-way audio for better interaction.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Zoox, a self-driving startup, was acquired by Amazon in 2020 and previously introduced an autonomous vehicle version in the same year.
Zoox, the self-driving startup that Amazon purchased in 2020, has showed off the new version of its autonomous vehicle that it says was designed for large-scale production. While it still looks like the old version the company introduced in 2020, the new vehicle comes with changes that improve its comfort for riders and make it easier to interact with.
The company relocated the vehicle's bidirectional reflectors for better visibility and made them rotate colors to better distinguish its front from its rear, seeing as the robotaxi has a boxy form factor. It also gave the speaker and microphone on the door two-way audio capabilities to enable communication between riders and road users, as well as between first responders and Zoox support.
Inside, the new vehicle has a lighter color palette with monochrome aloe green seating and stone-grey flooring. Zoox also added padding and ergonomic curves to the bench seats and their headrests, based on feedback from its early riders. It made the vehicle's touchscreen more vivid and installed larger cupholders, as well. The company didn't make big changes to the layout, however: It still looks like a single-carriage tram inside, with four passengers facing each other.
Open Questions
- When will the vehicle be deployed for large-scale production?
- What specific production numbers are targeted?
- Which cities will see initial deployment?
