Friday, June 26, 2020

Meanwhile in Seattle: "Amazon acquisition of robotaxi startup Zoox would add self-driving cars to its growing robot army"

From GeekWire:
Amazon is poised to significantly extend its reach into robotics and autonomous vehicles with the acquisition of Zoox, a company developing electric self-driving cars that has been planning to deploy an on-demand autonomous taxi service, according to a scoop by The Information, citing people familiar with the deal.

The deal would add cars to drones, warehouse bots and mini delivery vehicles in the company’s growing fleet of autonomous machinery.

Zoox’s focus on electric vehicles could also dovetail smartly with the tech giant’s high-profile climate initiatives.

The Zoox deal could be announced as soon as Friday morning, The Information says. It’s not clear how Amazon would use the acquired technology, or whether it would proceed with Zoox’s plans for a robotaxi service....
....MUCH MORE