Zoox unveils a self-driving car: Amazon's first robot taxi

Zoox, a self-driving car company that Amazon bought in June, has finally unveiled its robo-taxi after six years of prototypes.

And while it broadly resembles other first-generation autonomous vehicles from automakers and Silicon Valley startups, Zoox's robotax has some notable features, as well as an overall polish to it that makes it clear why Amazon thinks it can be the foundation of a new autonomous journey, writes The Verge.

The "wagon-style" autonomous vehicle is an electric four-wheeled car that can seat up to four people, and is similar in appearance to fully self-driving vehicles created by other companies, the Telegraph reports.

To further differentiate, Zoox has spent the past few years working on equipping its autonomous vehicle with the ability to steer both forward and backward. Combined with four-wheel drive functionality, Zoox says its vehicle will be able to make precise maneuvers and make "complicated turns." Zoox also claims its vehicle is the first of its kind to be able to travel at speeds of up to 120 km per hour, a possible move of ambitions to one day put the vehicles on the highway.

Like most early autonomous vehicles, Zoox's robotax is decked out in safety technology. There is a set of safety sensors and multiple radar cameras. Zoox says this provides a 270-degree field of view in every corner. The sensor suite allows the vehicle to see objects up to 150 meters away, Zoox says.

A small touchscreen in each seat is the most visible technology found inside; Zoox says commuters will use these to control music, air conditioning or see their route.

The Robotaxis is powered by a 133kWh battery pack, which is slightly larger than the packs currently powering Tesla's most capable vehicles. Zoox says these battery packs will last for 16 hours of continuous use.

The company has tested prototypes of its self-driving vehicle in San Francisco and Foster City, 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 basically built its own transportation infrastructure, but it's poured a ton of money into the Rivian EV hype (and is working with the company on a fleet of electric vans ). He also has a stake in Aurora, the autonomous vehicle outfit that just acquired Uber's self-driving division. /Telegraph/