Zoox, Amazon's self-driving car, announced plans to test autonomous vehicles on public roads in Miami and Austin, making them the fourth and fifth test locations after San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Seattle.
Zoox aims to create autonomous vehicles that function as "robo-taxis," and the company believes that testing in dense urban areas is crucial for perfecting its autonomous driving technology. Miami and Austin offer unique challenges that can help refine the system.
While robotaxis are already operating in cities like San Francisco, with companies like Waymo offering driverless rides for over two years and expanding to Los Angeles and Phoenix, safety concerns remain. Both Waymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet, and Zoox are under investigation after their vehicles were involved in crashes. Last year, General Motors-owned Cruise temporarily halted operations after one of its vehicles struck a pedestrian.
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