Zoox is approaching a decade of development in bringing its unique robotaxi to public roads. After being acquired by Amazon for a staggering $1.2 billion, Zoox continued to develop a completely bespoke electric vehicle (EV) for the robotaxi market, rather than retrofitting existing vehicles like many of its competitors. The result is a truly driverless, purpose-built, and fully autonomous passenger EV, which has already tallied over one million autonomous miles through San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Seattle.
The development of the Zoox robotaxi has been accompanied by thousands of simulated virtual crash tests, conducted even before the company built its prototype. In 2019, Zoox finished its first round of crash testing on the initial iteration of its minimalist robotaxi and used that data to improve its current version. As the company moves closer to commercialization and prepares to launch its unique EV to the public, Zoox has been sharing details of the safety features that have gone into its design.
Zoox was faced with a unique challenge in passenger safety. Traditional passenger vehicles have safety features geared towards the front seat, where an airbag can be deployed from the dashboard. By removing the dashboard altogether, Zoox had to find a new approach while still adhering to the same safety regulations as every other motor vehicle. The solution was a unique horseshoe-style airbag that surrounds all passengers, protecting them from both front and side collisions.
The EV’s crumple zone during a crash is another design feature that makes the ride in a Zoox robotaxi efficient while offering added safety. The vehicle is designed for efficient mobility and tight turns, leaving little room for crumpling. By moving the driving module and motor well inside the compact space of Zoox’s proprietary EV architecture, the platform can absorb much of the impact, dispersing the incoming force before it even reaches the passengers inside.
Zoox boldly states that this architecture design is not just a first for autonomous robotaxis but for the entire vehicle industry. With promising crash test results already underway, Zoox moves ever closer to commercialized public robotaxi rides in the US. By building its EV from the ground up, the team has pushed design features beyond existing solutions.
Simultaneously, the company’s own conception has created unique safety concerns that had to be addressed. Nevertheless, the team is committed to providing the highest possible level of safety for each and every seat in its robotaxi, flipping the script on traditional vehicles that can only deliver such reassurances to the front seat.
