[ExI] jeff's ride

[BillK]

On Tue, 7 Jul 2026 at 17:20, spike jones via extropy-chat
<extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:
>
> There are plenty of robotaxis being tested, but this one in Foster City caught my attention because it is symmetrical front and back.
> I found out the company is Zoox.  Jeff Bezos owns them now.  They make perfect sense: they carry up to four proles, they go backward as well as forward (there is no defined front or back.)  Having the front to back symmetry means they achieve economy of scale in half the time without dialing in much additional instrumentation cost.
>
> <snip>
>
> spike
> _______________________________________________


Zoox redesigned its robotaxis for more comfort and less stink
The new Zoox robotaxi design takes lessons from half a million rides.
And from human nature.

<https://www.fastcompany.com/91564135/zoox-redesigned-robotaxis>
Quote:
In the more than 2.5 million miles Zoox robotaxis have driven in San
Francisco and Las Vegas since last September, the Amazon-owned
driverless vehicle service has learned a lot about operating on
chaotic city streets. The company has also learned a lot about the
chaos people can bring inside their vehicles.
As a result of this and many other stinky, sticky, and disgusting
realities of having robots drive the general public around a city, the
new Zoox robotaxi design is heavy on moisture- and odor-resistant
materials. “We wanted to be able to wipe clean any issue very quickly
rather than replace parts,” Stoffel says.
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We discussed these problems many years ago, when self-driving cars
were first suggested!  :)
BillK