The Amazon subsidiary, zoox, began testing its purpose-built, electric, autonomous robotaxi on the streets of Las Vegas. Zoox says this is the first time an autonomous vehicle built without pedals or a steering wheel has operated on public roads in Nevada.
Zoox is getting off to a very controlled start with a one-mile loop around the neighborhood where its Las Vegas facility is located in the city's southwest region, with plans to expand in the coming months. The initial route will test the Zoox robotaxi in several unprotected turns and multi-way stops, as well as its ability to navigate roads with cyclists, pedestrians and other cars, depending on its entry in your blog.
The robotaxi, which can transport four people at a time at speeds of up to 35 miles per hour, will be available to Zoox employees during the workday.
Zoox did not specify how many vehicles it will have on the roads or what hours of operations it will provide this initial robotaxi service. But a company spokesperson said there will be "multiple" tests of Zoox vehicles.
The company reported that it has been driving on public roads in Las Vegas since June 16, 2023, although it has been in the city for much longer. It expanded its operations to Las Vegas to test, validate and refine its technology in 2019 with a view to launching commercial operations in the future. A test fleet of Toyota Highlanders was used to map the area and collect data, while driving autonomously with safety drivers on board.
In 2020, Zoox opened an office and warehouse in Las Vegas to support its test fleet. The company is now expanding those operations and adding nearly 60 square miles of warehouse and office space for its vehicles and growing equipment in the area. The company's workforce, which is spread across multiple locations in California, Nevada and Washington, has grown from 1900 employees to 2200 since the beginning of the year. Most of the new hires in Las Vegas are for its “target readiness” team, which focuses on fleet maintenance and charging.
The Las Vegas launch follows Zoox's rollout on public roads in Foster City, California, in February. Zoox, which has a driverless testing permit from the California Department of Motor Vehicles, is also transporting employees in those areas. Still, it has yet to open vehicle service to the public.
Nevada is a much easier state to test autonomous vehicles than California, which has a rigorous permitting process overseen by the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) Of California. Nevada allows all levels of automation to operate on public streets and its DMV does not test or certify vehicles.
Zoox said in Twitter that he had received authorization from the Nevada DMV to operate his robotaxi autonomously. According Nevada Law AV companies (Automated Vehicle) who want to develop and test vehicles in the state must self-certify that the vehicles meet the "minimum risk condition" to be able to stop if there is a malfunction in the system.
