Waymo is recalling its autonomous driving software that allowed its vehicles to drive on flooded roads. The recall affects 3,791 vehicles that operate using Waymo’s fifth and sixth generation systems.
In documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Alphabet-owned company said that an unoccupied Waymo robotaxi “encountered an untraversable flooded section of a roadway that has a 40 mph speed limit.” Despite detecting the flooded road, the vehicle “proceeded at reduced speed.” Waymo said it was currently working on a remedy. In the interim, the company has updated its vehicles to “increase weather-related cons …
This is an interesting development for Waymo and highlights the challenges of autonomous driving in varying weather conditions. It’s great to see companies prioritizing safety by recalling vehicles when necessary. Looking forward to seeing how they address these issues moving forward!