Just a few years ago the concept of self-driving cars definitely seemed a little bit out there. But these days it’s pretty normal, Teslas are everywhere and cars seem to get more and more computerized each day. This is why it’s no surprise that Amazon is hopping on the technology and also that they’ll be testing autonomous cars in Seattle.

Yep better be careful about those anti-Amazon sentiments because a Zoox car might just find you and run you down. We kid, but if you haven’t heard of Zoox, it’s a robotaxi company owned by Amazon. Haven’t heard of robotaxis? Well, they are self-driving (or self-flying) vehicles that could very well transform modern transportation.

And if you’re wondering why Seattle is being used as a testing city it’s because, well, that should be obvious. Amazon HQ is right here and the Seattle area is a well-known hotbed for engineers and computer scientists.

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Not only that, but Seattle’s rainy climate makes for the perfect location to test the car’s sensors and see how they navigate in a wetter than average climate. Because in order to have a car that’s safe for consumers, Zoox needs to test all possible climates.

According to an article from Bloomberg, the cars will only be tested on public roads and will look relatively normal since the testing cars are retrofitted Toyota Highlanders. But the final design of the Zoox taxis will look much more futuristic. In fact, the Zoox taxis will have no steering wheel and 4 seats all facing each other for a look that’s much more shuttle-like than your average taxi.

For now, there is no indication as to when these cars will be available for consumers to use. But as automated technologies are as big of a race as the space race these days, we have a feeling it will be here sooner than you might think. So keep your eyes peeled out there, the car next to you might just be driving itself.

Curiocity Staff

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