Zook Amazon's autonomous vehicle company located in Foster City, California, unveiled their autonomous electric robotaxi with the capability to travel as fast as 75 mph while transporting four passengers.

The futuristic toaster-shaped vehicle uses the latest automotive, robotics, and renewable energy technology to produce a symmetrical, bidirectional, zero-emissions car. The Cali-based company looks to make independent ride-hailing in dense, urban settings easier and safer while leaving less of a carbon footprint.

"Revealing our functioning and driving vehicle is an exciting milestone in our company's history and marks an important step on our journey towards deploying an autonomous ride-hailing service." "We are transforming the rider experience to provide superior mobility-as-a-service for cities. And as we see the alarming statistics around carbon emissions and traffic accidents, it's more important than ever that we build a sustainable, safe solution that allows riders to get from point A to point B." - Zoox's CEO Aicha Evans.

If you thought you were about to jump on your phone and book this new ride-share option, don't hold your breath; it is not a go quite yet. The Zoox team is still testing the new electric vehicle on private roads around California and Nevada; if you see the Zook robotaxi around, share some footage!

Zook is powered by a 133kWh battery allowing the car to operate for 16 hours on a single charge. When it comes to this autonomous ride-share taxi, it functions on a robot sensor design. The unique design maintains the cameras, electronics, and lidars, displaying overlapping laying fields of view and 360 coverage. The software maneuvers the car around daily traffic interactions such things as bikers, pedestrians, road construction, and other vehicles on the road.

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With the acquisition of Zoox last year, Amazon places itself right in the middle of Silicon Valley's budding self-driving vehicle industry. 

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Images: Zoox