After collisions, Waymo recalls robotaxi software
Waymo has issued its first-ever software recall this week after two of its driverless robotaxis collided with a tow truck in Phoenix.
The Dec. 11 collisions with a truck towing a backwards-facing pickup truck happened within minutes of each other because, according to the company, after the selfdriving cars “incorrectly predicted the future motion of the towed vehicle.”
The towed pickup truck was “persistently angled across a center turn lane and a traffic lane,” the company said, leading to the robotaxis’ incorrect prediction.
“This voluntary recall reflects how seriously we take our responsibility to safely deploy our technology and to transparently communicate with the public.” Waymo’s chief safety officer Mauricio Peña said in a blog post.
No one was hurt in the collisions, and neither of the Waymo robotaxis were transporting passengers at the time, Peña said. He said the Alphabet-owned company updated its fleet’s software in December to patch a fix for what he described as an “unusual scenario.”
This is not the first time an autonomous vehicle company has issued a software recall to address how robotaxis respond under unusual circumstances, and it might not be the last time. In November, for example, Waymo’s rival, Cruise, recalled the software for all its 950 robotaxis after one of its vehicles dragged a pedestrian about 20 feet during an attempt to pull over. That recall aimed to fix how Cruise vehicles detect and respond after collisions.
Not every notable software update results in a recall, either. Last year, Waymo updated its robotaxis’ software in response to incidents where they pulled over during foggy conditions in San Francisco, clogging traffic.
Waymo’s recall announcement follows a turbulent week for the company in San Francisco.
A group of vandals tagged a Waymo vehicle with graffiti, then set it on fire in Chinatown on Saturday night during Lunar New Year festivities. Days earlier, a company robotaxi collided with a bicyclist in Potrero Hill.