
Waymo has recalled 3,791 robotaxis after an incident involving a flooded street, according to a report by Electrek. The corporate filed the voluntary recall with the Nationwide Freeway Visitors Security Administration (NHTSA) after a automobile drove right into a flooded street final week in San Antonio. No person was injured, because the taxi was not occupied, however the automobile was swept away by the flood.
The robotaxi ought to have routed across the hazard, however did not. That is one other instance of how unique weather scenarios can trip up self-driving vehicles.
The corporate will difficulty an OTA software program repair and there isn’t any want for the autos to go to a service middle. Waymo says it has already carried out interim constraints whereas the software program patch is being finalized. Moreover, it is “limiting entry to areas the place flash flooding would possibly happen.”
That is the second flood-related incident to influence San Antonio-based Waymo robotaxis previously month. It has briefly ceased operations within the metropolis, however reports indicate it’s starting back up later this week.
The OTA software program replace ought to patch issues up, as this very a lot looks as if a difficulty regarding an algorithm not figuring out what to do with a flooded avenue. This is not the primary time Waymo has needed to recall its fleet and difficulty a software program repair. It was lately found that firm autos had a bent to illegally pass stopped school buses.