Zoox, an Amazon-owned self-driving vehicle company, has suspended its driverless testing program for over a week and issued a voluntary recall of software after a crash in Las Vegas.
The April 8 crash, which includes vacant Zoox cars and passenger cars, prompted the issue of recalls of around 270 vehicles with specific versions of the automated driving system. According to Zoox, the recall number does not reflect the full fleet size. The recall was issued on concerns that autonomous driving software could inaccurately predict the movement of another vehicle, increasing the risk of crashes.
The company said no injuries were reported and both vehicles suffered minor damage. The crash occurred after a commercial driveway where the Robotaxi, which was built for a passenger vehicle, quickly approached the lane from the commercial driveway where it was driving. The Zoox vehicle inaccurately predicted that the passenger car would progress, slowing its speed and piloting it to the right. Instead, the company says, “the car will stop, succumb to Zoox Robotaxi completely and stay in the shoulder lane.” “Zoox Robotaxi braked hard, but contact information was inevitable,” the company wrote in a blog post.
Zoox said it paused all driverless test operations on April 8 (Crash Day) and started an internal review. According to a report submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, operations resumed on April 17 after software updates were released on all Zoox vehicles.
The crash, and a voluntary recall, comes when Zoox pushes to launch a commercial Robotaki service in Las Vegas. A company spokesman confirmed that Zoox is scheduled to launch its service later this year.
The company is testing autonomous driving systems with modified Toyota Highlanders and custom-built Robotaxis, which do not have steering wheels or pedals in various cities, particularly along the Las Vegas Strip and certain San Francisco districts. Earlier this year, Zoox allowed employees, the media and other vetted guests to try their services. The company is also testing it in Austin, Miami and Seattle using human safety operators using Highlanders.
This is the second Zoox recall of the year. In March, the company issued a voluntary recall of 258 vehicles due to issues with autonomous driving systems that could cause unexpected hard braking.
Last year, NHTSA conducted a preliminary investigation with the company after receiving two reports of an incident in which the agency collided with the back of the Toyota Highlanders equipped with Zoox technology. The initial investigation found that in both cases Zoox vehicles operate with an autonomous system involved.
TechCrunch Events
Berkeley, California
|
June 5th
Book now
Source link
