Zoox Robotaxi: More Social Than Waymo, Claims Founder
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Zoox’s Unique Robotaxi Design Challenges Waymo’s Dominance
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The Core Difference: Interior Layout
As Amazon’s Zoox ramps up its bid to compete with Google’s waymo, co-founder and chief technology officer Jesse Levinson says one key feature sets the self-driving robotaxi unit apart from its rival.
While a Waymo’s interior resembles a traditional car-with two rows of seats and a screen or steering wheel on the front left-Zoox’s vehicle features two rows of seats facing one another, a configuration Levinson says is better suited for groups.
“It’s just a much better experience, so your time in the vehicle is dramatically nicer,” he said at Fortune’s brainstorm AI event in San Francisco earlier this month. “You have much more space. if you’re with friends, it’s dramatically more social, because you’re facing each other.”
Waymo’s Current lead in the Robotaxi Space
Waymo has largely dominated the robotaxi space since its first public launch in 2020, with a fleet size of more than 2,000 which recently completed 100 million miles driven autonomously. The company reached 10 million rides across the five cities where it is operational in May, double the number of trips recorded five months prior. Zoox, by comparison, is playing catch-up. After launching its first public robotaxi service in Las Vegas