WASHINGTON - Zoox, the autonomous vehicle company that released its first vehicle with Amazon in 2020, is now coming to the nation's capital.
What we know:
Washington, D.C. will be Zoox's first Mid-Atlantic testing location.
D.C. will present a series of challenges such as unique street layouts and seasonal weather changes. With many traffic circles and high pedestrian and bicycle traffic, as well as D.C.’s mix of humid summers, occasional snowfall, and unpredictable rainfall, this creates diverse conditions for testing driving performance.
D.C. is constantly growing and has a high demand for flexible transportation options, so the District is an ideal location to begin testing and mapping our technology on the East Coast, according to Zoox.
What's next:
Zoox will begin by deploying a few vehicles from their Zoox testing fleet, which are retro-fitted SUVs equipped with safety drivers, in the heart of Washington D.C. The fleet first starts by manually mapping within the geofence, before progressing to autonomous testing, which will commence later this year. Zoox believes that they will be a great addition to the already well-established public transportation in D.C.