Amazon/ zoox/Rivian

(23) Zoox's $800M Robo Taxi Could Beat Tesla and Uber - YouTube

Zoox unveils a self-driving car that could become Amazon’s first robotaxi - The Verge

 

Zoox, a self-driving car company that Amazon bought in June, has finally revealed its robotaxi after six years of gnarly prototypes and secrecy. And while it broadly resembles other first-generation autonomous vehicles from automakers and Silicon Valley startups, Zoox’s robotaxi has a few standout features, as well as an overall polish to it that makes obvious why Amazon thinks it might be the cornerstone of a fledgling autonomous ride-hailing service.

The autonomous “carriage-style” vehicle is an all-electric four-wheeler that seats up to four people, and is similar in appearance to fully self-driving vehicles created by other companies in the space. At just 3.63 meters long, it falls somewhere in between the big, boxy Origin robotaxi from Cruise (which is owned by General Motors) and the delivery-focused robot made by Nuro.

ZOOX CLAIMS A TOP SPEED OF 75 MILES PER HOUR, HINTING AT HIGHWAY USE

To further differentiate, Zoox has spent the last few years working on outfitting its autonomous vehicle with the ability to drive both forward and backward, and side to side, or “bi-directionally.” Combined with four-wheel steering functionality, Zoox says its vehicle will be able to handle precise maneuvers like “tight curbside pickups” and “tricky U-turns.” Zoox also claims its vehicle is the first of its kind to be able to travel at up to 75 mph, a possible nod to ambitions to one day put the vehicles on the highway.

Like most early autonomous vehicles, Zoox’s robotaxi is decked out in safety technology. There’s a crown of six LIDAR pucks up top, as well as multiple radar sensors and cameras. Zoox says this provides a 270-degree field of view at each corner, virtually eliminating blind spots as well as providing redundancy in case a sensor fails. The sensor suite allows the vehicle to see objects up to 150 meters away, Zoox says.

The interior of Zoox’s vehicle is less coldly technological. The cozy bench seats, which face inward (hence the term “carriage-style”) are surrounded by what looks like textured fabric. The seats also conceal what Zoox says is a radical rethink of how airbags work. There are cupholders and wireless charging mats between seats. And the ceiling has a starry sky pattern, the kind commonly seen in luxury vehicles like the Rolls Royce Ghost. A small touchscreen at each seat is the most obvious tech found inside; Zoox says passengers will use these to control music, air conditioning, or see their route and ETA.

Photo: Zoox

The robotaxi is powered by a 133kWh battery pack, which is a little bigger than the packs that currently power Tesla’s most capable vehicles. Zoox says these battery packs will last for 16 hours of continuous use.

That should be plenty of juice to help Zoox and Amazon start chipping away at their collective goal, which is creating an autonomous ride-hailing service. It’s a goal that Zoox has been pursuing since it was founded in 2014, and one it sought in almost theatrical secrecy before stumbling through a public spat with its co-founder and CEO in 2018, who was ultimately pushed out. The company has been testing prototypes of its self-driving vehicle in San Francisco and Foster City in California, as well as in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Of course, Zoox is just part of Amazon’s increasingly massive push into the transportation sector. Not only has the e-commerce giant essentially built out its own shipping infrastructure, but it has poured a ton of money into buzzy EV startup Rivian (and is working with the company on a fleet of electric delivery vans). It also has a stake in Aurora, the autonomous vehicle outfit that just acquired Uber’s self-driving division.

 

 

 

Amazon begins road testing Rivian electric delivery vans in San Francisco

PUBLISHED THU, MAR 18 20219:01 AM EDT

Annie Palmer@ANNIERPALMER

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KEY POINTS

·       Amazon is now testing electric delivery vans from Rivian in San Francisco.

·       The move marks the latest expansion of the program, after Amazon began road testing electric vans on some routes in Los Angeles last month.

·       The vehicles were developed in partnership with start-up Rivian, which has raised about $8 billion since 2019 from investors, including Amazon through its $2 billion Climate Pledge Fund.

 

Amazon’s new delivery van

Amazon

Amazon is now testing its electric delivery vans in San Francisco, the company announced Thursday.

It’s the latest expansion in California of Amazon’s custom electric vehicles developed in partnership with start-up Rivian Automotive, which has raised about $8 billion since 2019 from investors. Amazon announced last month it had begun testing electric delivery vans in Los Angeles. The company plans to expand the program to 14 more cities this year.

Amazon said it selected San Francisco as one of the initial cities to test electric vans from Rivian because of its “great customers, unique terrain and climate.” Deliveries will initially be conducted out of Amazon’s delivery station in the San Francisco suburb of Richmond, but Amazon expects to start deliveries from other Bay Area sites soon.

“From what we’ve seen, this is one of the fastest modern commercial electrification programs, and we’re incredibly proud of that,” Amazon global fleet and products director Ross Rachey said in a statement. “As we continue to grow and invest in California, we want to do so responsibly, so we’re excited for customers in the Bay Area to see these vehicles cruising through their neighborhood.”

Amazon, which has backed Rivian via its $2 billion Climate Pledge Fund, agreed in September 2019 to purchase 100,000 electric vehicles from the start-up as part of its ambitious push to make Amazon’s fleet run entirely on renewable energy. Each van has a range of 150 miles per charge.

Since then, Amazon said, it has been operating thousands of electric vehicles worldwide. In 2020, it said it delivered more than 20 million packages using electric delivery vehicles across North America and Europe.

To make the shift to electric vehicles, Amazon has redesigned its delivery stations, adding thousands of electric vehicle chargers. For now, Amazon said, the vehicles are being driven by Amazon employees who are specially trained to operate them.

Amazon unveiled a version of the electric delivery vans last fall. They feature a boxier design, the familiar Prime branding and upgraded safety features like an advanced driver assist system and exterior cameras that give the driver a 360-degree view outside the vehicle.

Amazon is still refining the design of its electric delivery vans before the start of production, which Rivian plans for the fourth quarter of this year.

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