Amazon.com Inc’s driverless-car business issued a software recall across its fleet after one of its robotaxis struggled to navigate through heavy smoke, the latest in a string of incidents involving autonomous vehicles at emergency scenes.
Zoox released a software update for all 105 vehicles operating on public roads, according to a document published on July 17 on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) website. The move affects the company’s purpose-built robotaxis and not a separate testing fleet of retrofitted vehicles.
The voluntary recall stems from an incident on June 20, when an unoccupied Zoox vehicle approached the scene of a fire that was obscured by heavy smoke, braking hard while attempting to steer away before coming to a stop, according to the document. Later, first responders placed traffic cones at the scene, blocking two of the three through-lanes.
No one was injured, and Zoox said it’s not aware of any other instances of this kind. In a statement to Bloomberg, the company said the software update "enhances the existing capability of detecting active EV scenes by adding the ability to detect and respond to heavy smoke in certain situations.”
A series of AV safety mishaps has put a spotlight on how self-driving cars sometimes struggle to handle situations human drivers commonly encounter. Alphabet Inc’s Waymo – the leading operator of paid robotaxi rides in the US – recently recalled thousands of vehicles and suspended freeway operations after its cars drove through construction zones at speed. The company has also faced scrutiny after its vehicles sometimes failed to slow or stop for school buses.
NHTSA is working to develop new safety requirements governing how autonomous vehicles behave on the road. Administrator Jonathan Morrison told Bloomberg in an interview this week that the agency aims to finalise the new requirements before the end of President Donald Trump’s current term.
The agency said it would continue to address individual safety incidents involving autonomous vehicles through its recall and enforcement authorities. The competency standards would set broader parameters for how self-driving cars should operate on the road, according to NHTSA. – Bloomberg
