Federal Regulators Give Zoox An Exemption For Its Custom-built Robotaxis

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has fixed Zoox an exemption to show its custom-built robotaxis connected nationalist roads and closed a related investigation into whether nan Amazon-owned institution had sidestepped national regulations.

The decision, which was announced Wednesday, clears up a long-standing statement complete whether Zoox’s custom-built autonomous vehicles complied pinch national centrifugal conveyance information standards, which spot requirements connected vehicles specified arsenic having a steering instrumentality and pedals. Zoox had based on that it did and announced successful July 2022 that it had self-certified; NHTSA balked. The agency opened an investigation successful March 2023 to look into nan matter, and specifically nan process and information that Zoox had utilized to self-certify.

The investigation didn’t slow Zoox’s improvement and testing of its autonomous conveyance technology. In early 2023, Zoox began testing its custom-built robotaxis, which don’t person a steering instrumentality aliases different accepted controls, connected nationalist roads adjacent its Fremont, California headquarters. The institution has since expanded its testing footprint to Las Vegas and San Francisco. Zoox does not run a commercialized work yet.

For now, nan exemption allows Zoox to show nan robotaxis, not run them commercially.

NHTSA’s announcement is connected to its new nationalist framework, which nan agency argues will make it easier for companies to deploy autonomous vehicles without accepted manual driving controls — for illustration steering wheels, pedals, and sideview mirrors — astatine scale.

The framework, known arsenic AV STEP (or ADS-Equipped Vehicle Safety, Transparency and Evaluation Program), allows NHTSA to green-light nan waste and commercialization of autonomous vehicles that are not compliant pinch national information standards owed to a deficiency of manual controls. 

The revised process involves an expedited exertion that allows companies for illustration Zoox to person exemptions for testing and demonstrations, and eventually, commercialized operations. Zoox spokesperson Whitney Jencks said successful an email that Zoox is moving successful adjacent practice pinch NHTSA connected this process, opening pinch nan objection exemption and followed by nan commercialized exemption.

As portion of nan agreement, NHTSA has closed its investigation into Zoox’s self-certification of its AVs. Zoox has agreed to region aliases screen each statements that its purpose-built vehicles comply pinch applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.