Zooke to test self-driving cars in Austin and Miami

Amazon’s self-driving division, Zoox, is bringing its autonomous vehicles to more cities.
Autonomous Driving Technology Companies Announced Wednesday will begin testing in Austin and Miami this summer, marking Zoox’s fourth and fifth test cities after Las Vegas, San Francisco and Seattle.
The news comes as federal regulators step up scrutiny of self-driving car makers like Waymo and Zoox, both of which are under investigation for safety issues. Earlier this week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration requested more information from Zoox to help with an investigation into the risk of rear-end crashes caused by unexpected braking.
Increased scrutiny following last year’s Cruise crash involving a pedestrian may be one reason Zoox is taking a slow and steady approach to testing and expansion.
A Zoox spokesperson told TechCrunch that the company began mapping cities this spring. In the summer, Zoox plans to deploy a fleet of modified Toyota Highlanders with safety drivers in “small areas near business and entertainment districts.” The company declined to say how many test vehicles it will send to each city.
Zoox also didn’t say when it would phase out safety drivers or when it would begin commercial operations in Austin or Miami. Rather, the company is focused on fine-tuning its autonomous system by using different urban environments. Austin, for example, has horizontal traffic lights, traffic lights suspended on wires, railroad crossings, and severe thunderstorms. Miami’s traffic lights are hung at an angle over an intersection, and the city is apparently plagued by traffic accidents. Impatient driver I suffer from road rage.
Zoox’s testing protocol is two-fold: the company identifies specific planned routes that offer challenging driving features and scenarios while also randomly testing specific point-to-point routes within a defined geofence.
“We always start with focused test areas and then systematically expand as the AI becomes familiar with the unique conditions of each city,” the blog post said.
The Austin and Miami test plans come as Zoox prepares for its first commercial launch. To give permission The company plans to test the vehicles without a safety driver in parts of San Francisco and Foster City, targeting that market as one of the first cities to roll out the service alongside Las Vegas.
Zoox did not respond to TechCrunch’s request for a timeline for commercial rollout or the definition of the geofenced areas.
Zoox is best known for its custom-built robotaxis, cute breadbox-shaped vehicles with no steering wheel or pedals and side doors that slide open to pick up passengers. The company doesn’t currently have plans to test the vehicles on public roads in Austin or Miami. Zoox previously began limited testing of fully self-driving robotaxis on public roads in Las Vegas and San Francisco, and said it planned to start taking passengers later this year. In February, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) granted Zoox a permit to test its self-driving AV, allowing the company to transport the public for free within its Foster City zone. Zoox hasn’t said whether it has started doing so.
News of Zoox’s expansion comes as the robotaxi industry is starting to get a second wind — or maybe a third wind. GM’s Cruise also recently The company is testing robotaxis in Dallas and Phoenix. Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo began offering driverless rides to employees in Austin earlier this year in preparation for a planned commercial launch later this year, and the company recently announced plans to begin testing robotaxis in Atlanta as well.
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