The Zoox Robotaxi Is Efficient, Fast, Bidirectional and Quite Elegant

Zoox has been working on autonomous electric vehicles since 2014, having long stated its mission as one of delivering efficient, clean, and safe personal transportation to dense urban environments. The goal has always been to make the Zoox vehicle into a robotaxi – which is just a fancier way of saying that this will be a driverless ride-hailing ride and not a personally-owned vehicle.

Zoox was acquired by Amazon in 2020 and, with the new infusion of cash came the possibility to deliver the final touching notes to the Zoox robotaxi. Zoox was officially unveiled on December 14 and, while the big announcement stops short of offering a delivery date or enough specs to answer all questions, at the very least, we’re getting a very good look at the future of urban mobility.

It’s looking cute and, to a certain extent, quite elegant.

However, the emphasis with Zoox is on safety. This is a bidirectional, all-wheel-drive self-driving car, so safety is paramount. It will ultimately have Level 5 autonomy, which means it won’t require the presence of a human operator, so it lacks controls. This allows Zoox to turn the driver and front passenger seats towards the rear (there is no “rear” to speak of here, but more on that in a second) for a face-to-face seating configuration, and to optimize interior space.

Much like the Cruise Origin that debuted in January this year, back when we still hoped 2020 would be the most amazing year ever, Zoox can carry four passengers in comfort, despite its very small footprint. In fact, the company claims it has the smallest footprint for a car of that capacity in the world, being only 3.63 meters (143 inches) long.

Back to the topic of safety, Zoox boasts “more than 100 safety innovations not featured in conventional cars,” including LiDAR, sensors and cameras that offer a 270-degree field of vision on all four corners. This unique architecture eliminates blind spots and keeps track of ongoing traffic, as well as cyclists and pedestrians.

Another major safety feature is a new airbag system that “envelops” passengers and provides the equivalent of five-star crash protection for all seats. Such an airbag is necessary because Zoox is bidirectional, meaning it’s facing the right way, whichever direction that might be. This and its small footprint will allow it to zip through the city and perform complicated maneuvers with ease, even in the most cramped spaces.

Speaking of zipping, Zoox claims a top speed of 75 mph (121 kph), considerably more than any other planned robotaxi and enough to allow it to get on highways.

Zoox is powered by a massive 133 kWh battery pack, which would be good for up to 16 hours of continuous operation on a single charge. The company doesn’t offer an estimated mileage for the same single-charge run, but the idea is that this robotaxi is made to stay on the road for as long as possible before heading out to plug in. Again, this is an important aspect to consider, especially when we’re talking about a ride-hailing vehicle.

Zoox did not go into the specifics of the cabin, but the official photos show a considerably spacious and quite elegant interior space. There’s none of that extra stuff usually found in personal vehicles, but you still get a starlit headliner, wireless smartphone charges, and touchscreen infotainment systems. More importantly, though, you get plenty of legroom so that, even if you’re facing total strangers, they wouldn’t be completely in your personal space during the ride.

As noted above, Zoox did not mention an estimated delivery date, but its robotaxi is currently being tested in San Francisco, Las Vegas and Foster City. You can see one such test at the bottom of the page. The biggest takeaway from the announcement slash official unveiling is that Zoox is a fully-working prototype and not just some digital concept that will never materialize. It’s a taste of the future, so here’s to a better 2021.