Electric robotaxi Zoox will be able to ride without recharging for 16 hours

The company Zoox, which was acquired by the Internet giant Amazon, has presented a working prototype of an electric robotic taxi, which can take on board four people, and will require recharging only after sixteen hours of operation, according to 3dnews.

Commercial operation of the car will begin no earlier than 2022.

Robotaxi trials will begin on the streets of San Francisco and Las Vegas, as the states of California and Nevada legally allow the operation of unmanned vehicles on public roads without an insurance driver behind the wheel.

The car does not have manual controls; they are sharpened exclusively for moving in automatic mode. Inside the cockpit, which has a symmetrical layout, allowing for movement both in the forward direction and in the opposite direction, there are two sofas for four passengers. Each has access to a mobile charging port, cup holder and climate control. Zoox offers to call a taxi through a mobile application, in which you can choose the option of moving without fellow travellers.

As conceived by the creators, such a taxi will be constantly in motion, so the battery will last for 16 hours of operation without recharging. The battery blocks are located under the passenger seats, each axle has its own electric motor.

The car has successfully passed the crash test, obligatory for certification; each passenger is entitled to a set of airbags, which literally creates a protective "cocoon" around the person.

Zoox is not going to sell such vehicles to customers yet, so the question of price has not been announced. The company intends to independently act as a taxi service operator, offering trips within the city limits at affordable prices. Over time, Zoox claims to expand beyond the US market. The re-equipment of these vehicles for the delivery of goods to the parent company Amazon is not excluded.