Waymo, the autonomous vehicle branch of tech giant Alphabet Inc., has recalled its self-driving car software following an incident where two of its vehicles encountered and subsequently collided with the same tow truck within minutes of each other, in Phoenix. The software glitch led both vehicles to misread the truck's position, with the tow truck's awkwardly positioned tow causing an unforeseen blind spot for the AI's perception system. This incident underscores the ongoing challenges facing the development of autonomous vehicle technology.
According to a blog post by Waymo, the first vehicle struck the pickup truck being towed, after which the tow truck continued on its path. Shortly thereafter, a second Waymo car repeated the same error and also hit the vehicle. Despite the collisions, neither car had passengers on board as the service is currently driverless in Phoenix. This sequence of mishaps provoked the company to report the issue to local enforcement, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and a state safety agency.
In a swift response, Waymo stated they have modified their vehicle software to address the issue that led to the misinterpretation by the vehicles' sensory hardware. "This voluntary recall reflects how seriously we take our responsibility to safely deploy our technology and to transparently communicate with the public," Waymo said in a statement obtained by ABC15 Arizona. The updated software was deployed across all Waymo's self-driving Jaguar I-Paces in its fleet between late December 2023 and early January 2024.
The recall comes amid a heightened focus on the safety of self-driving vehicles, prompted by incidents such as the crash last year involving Cruise, General Motors' autonomous vehicle subsidiary. In that case, Cruise's vehicle struck and dragged a pedestrian, leading to a revocation of its testing permits in California. Subsequently, Cruise temporarily ceased its testing operations across the U.S. and faced a departure of several top executives, as reported by CNN. Cruise has yet to resume operating its autonomous fleet.
