As more robotaxis hit American roads, their limitations are becoming increasingly clear.
Zoox has recalled software used across its fleet of 105 robotaxis over concerns the vehicles may fail to properly detect and respond to heavy smoke, raising the risk of a crash or interference with first responders.
The Amazon-owned robotaxi company filed the voluntary recall with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) earlier this month.
According to a safety recall report published this week, the recall was prompted by a June 20 incident in which an unoccupied Zoox robotaxi approached an active fire scene that was obscured by heavy smoke and had not yet been cordoned off with traffic cones.
“The Zoox vehicle entered the scene, then braked hard while attempting to steer away before coming to a stop,” the report says.
A remote operator then guided the vehicle in reverse and out of the scene, allowing first responders to place traffic cones to block off the area.
Zoox implemented a temporary fix following the July 7 recall that strengthened its operational measures to avoid driving near active fire emergency scenes. The company has since released a software update to all affected vehicles operating on public roads.
“We identified the root cause through our internal process and have implemented a software update that enhances the existing capability of detecting active EV scenes by adding the ability to detect and respond to heavy smoke in certain situations,” a Zoox spokesperson told Gizmodo in an emailed statement.
The recall came just before regulators publicly warned the industry about a broader pattern of driverless cars interfering with emergency responders.
On July 8, NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison sent a letter to autonomous-vehicle companies calling on them to address the problem.
“Let me be clear: the inability to detect and appropriately respond to such situations represents a functional insufficiency,” Morrison wrote in the letter. “Emergency scenes are not rare or extreme ‘edge cases.’ As such, NHTSA is today issuing a call to action for AV developers and operators to immediately focus their resources on fixing this issue.”
While robotaxis have been steadily spreading across the country, so have recalls over how they navigate construction zones, flooded roads, and stopped school buses.
Zoox has also issued several recalls over the past year involving unexpected hard braking, issues with lane crossing, and failing to accurately predict the movement of nearby vehicles.
This latest recall comes as Zoox prepares to more directly enter the robotaxi industry that’s currently dominated by Alphabet’s Waymo. Amazon acquired Zoox for about $1.3 billion back in 2020. Since then, the company has started offering free rides in parts of Las Vegas and San Francisco and has also begun testing in other cities, including Austin and Miami.
Last month, Zoox also showed off an updated version of its robotaxi, which the company described as the “next evolution” of the vehicle and plans to put into large-scale production.
Since the vehicles are built around riders, not drivers, they do not have traditional controls like a steering wheel or pedals. That gives Zoox’s robotaxi its unique boxy, toaster-on-wheels look.
The company is still waiting on approval from the NHTSA to deploy these steering-wheel-less robotaxis commercially.
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