Waymo issues a voluntary recall and, in some areas, suspends service after concerns that its self-driving taxis may enter flooded roads. Multiple outlets report that the recall follows an incident in San Antonio, Texas, in April, when an empty Waymo robotaxi drove onto a flooded roadway during heavy rainfall. Bloomberg and NBC News report that Waymo identifies a software issue that could affect the vehicles’ ability to respond appropriately in flood conditions. The company recalls thousands of robotaxis to change the relevant software so the vehicles are less likely to attempt to drive through standing water. The New York Post and Los Angeles Times report the recall covers roughly more than 3,000 vehicles (with figures in the thousands) that use Waymo’s fifth and sixth generation automated driving systems. Separately, Bloomberg reports that Waymo suspends robotaxi service in Atlanta on a temporary basis due to similar concerns about flooded streets. Waymo also says its technology generally makes roads safer, and that its system performs better than humans at avoiding crashes and major incidents, according to Global News (Canada).
Waymo recalls thousands of robotaxis after flooded-road incident and software issue
Waymo issues a voluntary recall and, in some areas, suspends service after concerns that its self-driving taxis may enter flooded roads. Multiple outlets report that the recall follows an incident in...
- Waymo issues a voluntary recall affecting thousands of robotaxis due to a software issue related to flooded streets.
- Sources cite a San Antonio incident in April in which a robotaxi drove onto a flooded road during heavy downpour.
- The recall aims to prevent autonomous vehicles from attempting to drive on flooded roadways.
- Waymo temporarily halts robotaxi service in Atlanta because of concerns about flooded roads.
- Coverage notes the recall involves vehicles using Waymo’s fifth and sixth generation automated driving systems, and U.S. regulators are involved in related review.
The company already recalled its self-driving cars over the flaw.
3 months agoWaymo has temporarily halted service in Atlanta over concerns that its robotaxis may attempt to drive on flooded roads, the latest setback over an issue that recently led the company to recall thousands of vehicles.
3 months agoWaymo has paused service in Atlanta after one of its driverless cars entered a flooded street and got stuck. It follows a similar pause in San Antonio that prompted a recent software recall (PDF) over flood avoidance. TechCrunch reports: Waymo admitted that it hadn't finished developing a "final remedy" for avoiding flooded areas when it issued its software recall last week. Instead, the company said that it shipped an update to its fleet that placed "restrictions at times and in locations where there is an elevated risk of encountering a flooded, higher-speed roadway," according to documents released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). But even those precautions apparently were not enough to stop the Waymo robotaxi from entering the flooded intersection in Atlanta. Waymo told TechCrunch on Thursday that the storm in Atlanta produced so much rainfall that flooding was happening before the National Weather Service had issued a flash flood warning, watch, or advisory. The company said its fleet those alerts are part of a larger set of signals it relies on to prepare the vehicles for poor weather. Read more of this story at Slashdot.
3 months agoWaymo's robotaxi service is now suspended in both Atlanta and San Antonio, as the company works to stop its vehicles from driving into flooded roads.
3 months agoNothing like a partly submerged self-driving car to dampen public trust in autonomous vehicles
3 months agoThe autonomous taxi company Waymo issued a voluntary recall of more than 3,000 vehicles due to a software issue that led some of the vehicles to drive into standing water.
3 months ago
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