Amazon Zoox Recalls All 270 Robotaxis After Las Vegas Crash; Self-Driving Software Now Under Fix

The new self-driving venture from Amazon, Zoox, has implemented an extensive recall of all 270 robotaxis that are operational in Nevada following a minor collision caused by its autonomous car in Las Vegas last month.

Specifically, Zoox issued a software recall for its self-driving vehicles to fix the issue that caused the crash following its investigation.

In the company's report, it was revealed that the accident became unavoidable after Zoox's self-driving technology anticipated the situation inaccurately, especially in its operational conditions.

Amazon's Zoox Recalls All 270 Robotaxis After LV Crash

Zoox has shared a press release detailing the voluntary recall of all 270 operational robotaxis roaming the roads of Las Vegas following a recent crash with a passenger vehicle in the city. The company revealed that this voluntary recall targets to fix the issue with its software that caused the crash after finding out what happened in the incident.

According to Zoox, the accident happened because of a passenger car that quickly approached its robotaxi's lane. The robotaxi anticipated that it would proceed forward, resulting in it slowing down and steering to the right.

However, the said passenger car made a full stop on the shoulder lane, which the Zoox vehicle did not anticipate, and despite hitting the breaks, the accident still took place.

Self-Driving Software Fix for Zoox Robotaxis

Zoox said that in its report submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), it identified the issue to happens when its cars are traveling at over 40mph. When the robotaxi sees an approaching car towards its lane, its software predicts that the opposing vehicle would continue driving.

According to the company, they have already issued a software update to all vehicles that remedies its inaccurate prediction of the "other vehicle trajectory" and the other similar issues it indicated in the report.

Robotaxis Under Testing Still Face Accidents

Robotaxis have been operational in the country for a while now, and different companies have since tested their driverless cars on real-world scenarios. However, amidst all their safety developments, there have been various accidents that occurred, with Alphabet's Waymo previously being involved in an accident with a cyclist in San Francisco.

Also, the now-defunct Cruise from General Motors saw its fair share of accidents on the road. In one incident, Cruise was involved in a crash with a bus from the San Francisco Municipal Transit Authority because of its movements that the self-driving software was not able to predict accurately.

It should also be noted that Amazon's Zoox previously faced an investigation for the unexpected braking of its cars.

While operational self-driving ride hailing services are slowly opening its services for public use in different cities in the US, they are still experimental and in their testing phases.