Amazon subsidiary Zoox: second recall of robotaxis within a month

Following an accident in San Francisco in early May, the robot cab start-up Zoox, which belongs to Amazon, has submitted a voluntary software recall for some of its autonomous vehicles to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for the second time in just a few weeks.

According to a company statement, the recall was triggered by a collision between one of the Zoox robotaxis and an e-scooter driver on May 8 in San Francisco. According to the statement, an unoccupied Zoox vehicle traveling at low speed was hit by an e-scooter driver while turning after braking at the intersection to give way.

At the beginning of May, Zoox recalled 270 Robotaxis after an unoccupied Robotaxi was involved in an accident with a car in Las Vegas, in which fortunately no one was injured. According to the robotaxi provider, the cause was a software error that could lead to the autonomous vehicle inaccurately predicting the movement of another vehicle. The current case appears to be due to a similar problem.

Software update already installed

“The Zoox vehicle was stopped at the time of the collision,” reads the Zoox statement on the accident on May 8 and the resulting recall. “The e-scooter driver fell to the ground right next to the vehicle. The Robotaxi then started moving and stopped after turning, but had no further contact with the e-scooter rider.” Zoox operating personnel quickly arrived at the scene of the accident. According to the statement, the e-scooter rider declined medical treatment offered for his minor injuries.

“Following this incident, we have transparently shared both information and video footage with the regulatory authorities,” Zoox continued. In addition, a software update “to improve perception tracking and further prevent vehicle movement when a vulnerable road user is near the vehicle” has already been introduced to the Zoox vehicle fleet.

Unlike a recall for combustion cars, for example, where a vehicle owner has to take their car back to the dealer for a repair, a recall for autonomous vehicles often involves a software update to improve or correct the vehicle's behavior. As Zoox owns and operates its vehicles, software updates can be quickly implemented across the fleet, the company says. Zoox did not disclose how many vehicles are affected by the current recall.

Repeated incidents with robotaxis

Incidents also occur repeatedly with other providers. In mid-May, it was announced that Waymo, a robotaxi start-up belonging to Google, was recalling more than 1,200 self-driving vehicles to update the software. This is intended to eliminate the risk of collisions with parked cars and other stationary objects. The NHTSA launched an investigation into Waymo last year, which it expanded shortly afterwards following further incidents. The investigation is still ongoing.

The General Motors subsidiary Cruise was fined millions last fall following an accident involving one of its autonomous cars in San Francisco. Shortly afterwards, the autopilot of the US car manufacturer Tesla came under scrutiny by the authorities following several accidents. The NHTSA wants to clarify how Tesla's Autopilot deals with poor conditions. 2.4 million vehicles are impacted. The road safety authority also sees unanswered questions regarding the cab service with autonomous cars that Tesla plans to launch in the United States in June.

(akn)