You may already be used to seeing empty robotaxis cruising through city streets.No driver.
No passenger.Just a car rolling along as if it has somewhere important to be.
Sometimes it does.It may be heading to pick someone up.
Other times, it may be driving back to a faraway depot to get cleaned, charged or checked before the next ride.That empty driving has a name: deadhead miles.
In other words, the car is using time, power and road space without carrying a paying rider.Now a Redwood City, California, startup called Aseon Labs wants to bring the depot closer to the robotaxi.The company is building parking-space-sized robotic service pods that can clean, charge, inspect and reset driverless cars closer to where riders actually need them.
Aseon calls them modular "reset pods." But if these boxes start showing up near parking lots, gas stations or busy streets, plenty of people may see them another way: as robotaxi pit stops in a box.The idea could help cut wasted miles and keep driverless cars moving.However, it also raises a very interesting debate for cities and neighborhoods: where exactly do you put these big boxes?ZOOX ROBOTAXI REDESIGN BRINGS BIG RIDER UPGRADESThe system could help robotaxi fleets spend less time driving empty, but these big boxes may still spark debate over curb space.
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