Waymo Recalls 1,200 Vehicles Due to Software Issues
Waymo has issued a recall for around 1,200 of its unmanned vehicles. This action stems from problems related to software detection and how these vehicles respond to various road barriers such as chains and gates.
The company has already rolled out updated software for these automated driving systems, impacting a total of 1,212 vehicles. This update was completed by December 26, as indicated in a recall report submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
In the report, Waymo noted that prior to the updates, there had been instances where their vehicles collided with road barriers. The report explained that these collisions were influenced by how the vehicles detected objects or responded to them. The NHTSA highlighted that encounters with these barriers posed a heightened risk of injury, although thankfully, none of the 16 reported incidents resulted in injuries to Waymo passengers.
This recall follows nearly a year after the NHTSA began looking into previous reports of crashes involving obstacles like gates and chains. Waymo stated there was already a software update underway when the investigation commenced.
Waymo claims to provide over 250,000 paid rides each week in some of the country’s most challenging driving scenarios. They assert a commitment to high safety standards, emphasizing their track record of reducing injuries over millions of miles of fully autonomous driving.
The report also mentions that the software updates significantly diminished the likelihood of accidents related to barriers like chains and gates. Looking ahead, Waymo’s vehicles are slated to introduce autonomous passenger services in cities such as Atlanta, Miami, and Washington, D.C., as well as continuing in Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Austin.
Founded in California, Waymo has its roots in the Google Autonomous Vehicle Project dating back to 2009. In 2016, this initiative was restructured into a subsidiary of Alphabet, Google’s parent company.
