Waymo issues recall to deal with a flooding problem | TechCrunch

"Waymo has issued a software update to its fleet of nearly 4,000 vehicles to help them avoid flooded roads as part of a recall announced by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on Tuesday. But the company hasn't fully solved the problem of how its vehicles behave in these conditions. In documents released by NHTSA, the federal safety regulator says Waymo is still "developing the final remedy for this recall.""

"The issue appears to be that Waymo's robotaxis were slowing, but not stopping, when encountering flooded roads that they could not traverse, according to NHTSA. Robotaxis using both Waymo's fifth- and sixth-generation autonomous vehicle systems are affected. The regulator said the recall applies to 3,791 vehicles - giving us a more up-to-date understanding of just how many vehicles Waymo has on the roads in around a dozen U.S. cities."

"The initial update sent to its fleet places "restrictions at times and in locations where there is an elevated risk of encountering a flooded, higher-speed roadway," according to NHTSA. "We have identified an area of improvement regarding untraversable flooded lanes specific to higher-speed roadways, and have made the decision to file a voluntary software recall with NHTSA related to this scenario," Waymo said in a statement."

Waymo issued a software update for nearly 4,000 robotaxis to reduce risk when encountering flooded roads. NHTSA announced a recall covering 3,791 vehicles and said Waymo had not fully solved vehicle behavior in these conditions. NHTSA reported that robotaxis slowed but did not stop when they encountered flooded roads they could not traverse. The issue affected vehicles using both Waymo’s fifth- and sixth-generation autonomous systems. The update adds restrictions at times and locations with elevated risk of encountering flooded, higher-speed roadways. Waymo stated it identified improvements for untraversable flooded lanes on higher-speed roadways and filed a voluntary software recall while working on additional implementation.

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