PC: Reuters
Waymo, self-driving arm of Alphabet, said on Thursday, 13 June 2024, that it would recall 672 driverless vehicles. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has also been examining 22 reports of Waymo robotaxis behaving unexpectedly, including 17 collisions.
No passengers, other road users or injuries were involved, according to Reuters. Waymo has completed a software update that improves how the automated driving system responds to poles and pole-like permanent objects, according to the Associated Press. Reuters says the same remedy was part of the recall, and NHTSA stated that, before the update, the system could fail to avoid a pole or similar object. Waymo is saying “robust mapping updates and improvements” have already been installed in all of the vehicles. The map update adds a “hard road edge” between the pole or pole-like object and the drivable surface.
The recall followed a collision in May in which one vehicle struck a wooden utility pole in an alleyway in Phoenix, Arizona, while attempting a low-speed pullover manoeuvre. Waymo has installed a software update and mapping improvements across the fleet.