Amazon's Zoox won the first US approval for paid robotaxis with no steering wheel or human controls | ©Image Credit: ZooxA robotaxi with no steering wheel or any human controls can now legally charge you for a ride, something that was impossible before under federal rules written for cars with drivers in the U.S.This week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration granted Amazon's Zoox unit a temporary exemption, clearing the company for limited commercial deployment.To that effect, Zoox will start charging riders in Las Vegas first, with more markets to follow as it works through state requirements.Why this green light hits differentlyTo understand the significance of the exemption and why it matters, one must look at how the robotaxi industry has operated until now. Most companies chasing autonomous ride-hailing modify existing cars to fit safety rules written decades before the advent of driverless technology even came into the picture.AdvertisementAdvertisementZoox, however, built its vehicles from scratch. The thing has a carriage-like appearance, with two rows of seats facing each other and no controls at all. Most importantly, it tops out at 75 miles per hour.Under the exemption, the tech company is authorized to deploy up to 2,500 vehicles annually for the next two years. Zoox already carries passengers in select areas of Las Vegas and San Francisco as part of its testing operations, so the clearance allows money to change hands, subject to state and local sign-off. Zoox is not permitted to sell these vehicles to the general public, nevertheless.There are strings attached, of course. Zoox must report all crashes and incidents where its vehicles stop inappropriately on roads, and NHTSA will issue updated operational authorizations as the technology evolves. The company must also publish maps showing exactly where the vehicles operate, and finally, all remote operators must be based in the United States.A license with a short leash?This is all happening amid heightened federal scrutiny of the broader Autonomous Vehicle (AV) industry. On July 8, for instance, NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison issued a formal call to action to all AV developers, citing 'a clear pattern' of driverless cars interfering with first responders.AdvertisementAdvertisementThe agency highlighted numerous incidents where robotaxis have driven around stopped school buses, wandered into construction zones, frozen at busy intersections and on flooded roads, and broken traffic laws.Some of that has even led to recalls, with Zoox recalling its entire fleet of 105 vehicles after the CTA. The company pushed a software update to rectify a specific vulnerability where the vehicles were unable to detect heavy smoke, a critical issue for any vehicle operating in an active emergency.All in all, things are looking up for the AV industry in general. The NHTSA recently commenced a partnership with the SAE Industry Technologies Consortia to draft the country's first federal safety performance standards for automated driving systems.The agency expects to have it written by the end of the Trump administration. It's also proposing to rewrite older rules built around human drivers, including mandates requiring brake pedals and rear-view mirrors, which were originally designed for human-operated vehicles.AdvertisementAdvertisementSource: NHTSA, Federal Register, Autonomous Vehicle International, ReutersRead the original article on GEEKSPIN.Affiliate links on GEEKSPIN may earn us and our partners a commission.