Zoox, owned by Amazon, announced a recall on Tuesday because its self-driving system could cause vehicles to cross the center lane near intersections or block crosswalks. The voluntary software recall affected 332 vehicles, according to documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Although there have been no crashes related to this issue, Zoox noted in a filing with NHTSA that it could increase the risk of crashes. The company is offering Zoox driverless vehicles to the public for free in parts of San Francisco and Las Vegas.
A Zoox spokesperson told TechCrunch that the company has seen several instances in which its vehicles performed substandard maneuvers that are common for human drivers. For example, a robotaxi may stop at a crosswalk to avoid blocking a particular intersection with a red light. In some cases, the robotaxis delayed turning and ended up changing direction significantly, according to an emailed statement from a spokesperson.
The issue was first observed on Aug. 26 when a Zoox robotaxi made a sharp right turn, veered partially into oncoming traffic and came to a halt in front of oncoming traffic, according to an NHTSA filing.
Zoox monitored additional lane crossing data near intersections and ultimately identified 62 cases between August 26 and December 5. The company said in a filing that it is in “ongoing discussions with NHTSA regarding the frequency, severity, and root causes of these incidents.”
The company updated its software on November 7th and again in mid-December to address all issues.
“We have successfully identified and deployed targeted software improvements to address the root causes of these incidents,” the statement said. “Transparency and security are the foundations of Zoox, so today we are filing a voluntary recall of our software. We want to be open to the public and regulators that we are constantly refining and improving our technology.”
The software recall affected Zoox vehicles that were on the road from March 13 to December 18, according to the filing.
Zoox has announced several software recalls this year, including one in March to address unexpected hard braking. The recall follows a preliminary investigation by NHTSA into two reports of motorcycles colliding with the rear of Zoox vehicles.
Zoox filed for two software recalls in May to address concerns about the system’s ability to predict the movements of other road users.
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