Zoox plans to put its robot on the Uber app in Vegas this year

Amazon-owned Zoox plans to make its Uber-hailing robotaxi available in Las Vegas later this year, the companies announced Wednesday.

Before that can happen, Zoox still needs federal government approval to commercially deploy its robotaxis, which have no steering wheel or pedals. This requires exceptions to the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced Wednesday He began receiving public comments Upon Zoox’s request for these exemptions. (Zox currently He has an exemption Which allows custom-designed robots to operate as a demonstration, rather than commercially.)

If Zoox gets approval, the company plans to launch its commercial robot service first, and before making the vehicles available on Uber in Las Vegas, TechCrunch said. Zoox currently offers free rides in Las Vegas and San Francisco. It is also mapping and strengthening its presence in eight other US cities, including Dallas and Phoenix Announced earlier this week.

Zoox and Uber described the partnership as a “multi-year strategic partnership” that includes plans to launch in Los Angeles in 2027.

This is Zoox’s first external partnership with a platform like Uber. But it’s certainly not Uber’s first partnership with a self-driving car company. Uber has partnerships with more than 25 different self-driving car companies around the world. Its most notable deal is with Waymo, which is making its robotaxis available on the Uber platform in Austin and Atlanta. Uber has also partnered with Chinese company Baidu and announced that it will do so Starting to test these self-driving cars in London this year. The passenger transportation giant has AV partnerships with Volkswagen, May navigationand Pony AIalso.

Uber is also building new offerings for these robotaxi partners. In January, TechCrunch revealed The company has created an “AV Labs” division dedicated to collecting real-world driving data to enhance its partners’ autonomous systems. Last month, Uber announced that it had created a division called… Uber standalone solutions Which can provide operation, software and support services.

Zoox is seeking exemptions from eight FMVSS standards, including standards that require a vehicle to have windshield defroster systems and windshield wipers. NHTSA will take public comments for 30 days, but it’s not clear when the federal safety agency will issue a ruling.

At a hearing on self-driving vehicle safety held Tuesday, NHTSA Chairman Jonathan Morrison appeared eager to move forward with a clearer regulatory scheme for self-driving cars.

“We believe it is time to move beyond the hype and finally do the serious political work necessary to provide appropriate and robust oversight of this sector while removing the unnecessary and unintended barriers to innovation that currently exist,” he said. “This will not be easy, but I firmly believe it is within our reach, and we at NHTSA are moving with a great sense of urgency to get it done.”