Amazon-Owned Zoox Expands Autonomous Vehicle Testing in Dallas, Phoenix
If you’ve struggled to find a driverless taxi in Dallas or Phoenix, it’s about to get a bit easier with Amazon-owned Zoox announcing plans to expand in those cities.
In the case of Phoenix, Zoox is establishing its first-ever test fleet in Arizona. In Texas, the company already has a fleet in Austin and is now adding a fleet in Dallas. Overall, the company now operates in nine cities in seven states: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, Miami, Atlanta, and now Dallas and Phoenix as well as Washington D.C.
Like most of its competition, Zoox uses a fleet of retrofitted SUVs to test its technology. In this case, they’re using Toyota Highlanders. After an initial phase of mapping and testing, it begins using purpose-built robotaxis with no driver controls which look like giant toasters. Those vehicles are actually in use in Las Vegas. Tesla’s fleets use Model Y vehicles that already have the hardware and software necessary, by its estimation, to drive autonomously.
The company revealed plans to pen its third Fusion Center, located in Scottsdale, Arizona. These centers act as a “command center for fleet operations, where teleguidance, mission control, and rider support provide real-time coordination to help vehicles navigate complex scenarios, complete missions, and support riders when needed,” the company noted in a post on its website.
Zoox is one of several companies running testing operations in Phoenix, including Waymo, Tesla, and previously Cruise, which was a subsidiary of General Motors. San Francisco is another popular market for testing.
“Phoenix and Dallas are both rapidly growing metropolitan areas with high demand for ride-hailing and first- and last-mile connections. Expanding into these cities allows us to test in sprawling environments, differentiating this data from our testing in other dense metro areas like San Francisco,” the company noted.
“Crucially, these markets allow us to rigorously validate our technology's resilience in diverse and challenging weather conditions. In Phoenix, we have the opportunity to test our sensor and battery performance against extreme heat and dust on high-speed roads. Dallas provides a valuable testing ground to refine our AI against diverse weather and complex road networks.”
[Images: Zoox]
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Michael Strong has spent more than 25 years writing about the automotive industry. A Detroit-area native, he’s written about everything from local car shows to product reviews to financial news. Currently he writes and edits for a variety of national and local publications. He’s also a longtime member of the Automotive Press Association and the International Motor Press Association, and a graduate of Georgia Southern University. Hail Southern! Despite a love for ’70s land yachts and BMWs from the late ’80s and early ’90s, his personal vehicle is neither of those.
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You too, AI.
Do these systems permit privacy as in having no other passengers along for the trip?
I'd absolutely use one for a ride to and from a med/oral surgical procedure with anesthesia that nixes driving myself home.
I hate burdening a family member with that and local cab service is almost nonexistent.