The robotaxi manufacturer, Zoox, has released the final instalment of "Putting Zoox to the Test", a video series of how the company put its vehicle through various test phases. The series finale explains how the company's robotaxi is designed to pass the most rigorous crash tests and summarizes the process from pre-crash simulations to component-level and post-crash testing.
Even so, Zoox is building an autonomous vehicle that does not include standard human controls like the steering wheel or brake peddles; the vehicle must still comply with the same regulations that every other motor vehicle complies with. FMVSS (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards) are the minimum safety standard in the USA, for a vehicle to operate on public roads. To achieve FMVSS, the vehicle must be successful in three tests, frontal crash test, side crash test, and vehicle integrity test for all electrical vehicle systems.
A significant part of the FMVSS is the success of airbag deployment in those crashes. Zoox created a unique system that includes a horseshoe airbag system and two frontal airbags for each row of vehicle occupants.
The crash test takes just 300 milliseconds, but its preparation can take several weeks; therefore, the company has only one chance to get the data it wants. Watch the video to see how the company navigates its way through to a successful crash test.
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