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Zoox Inc. has taken significant steps in ensuring the safety of its autonomous vehicles by filing a Part 573 Safety Recall Report with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) last week. This proactive measure addresses two incidents where its vehicles experienced unexpected braking and were subsequently rear-ended by motorcycles.
The vehicles involved in these occurrences were part of Zoox’s retrofitted test fleet, which always operates with onboard safety drivers. Interestingly, the recall will also impact some of the company’s purpose-built robotaxis that utilize similar software, although there are currently no Zoox vehicles on the road that are equipped with the recalled software.
“Zoox proactively took action to evaluate the root cause of the incidents and implemented mitigating measures to prevent recurrence,” the company stated. Among these measures are software updates for the retrofitted test fleet, operational adjustments for their robotaxis, and enhanced training for safety drivers and TeleGuidance operators.
The NHTSA had previously initiated a Preliminary Evaluation concerning these incidents in May 2024. In response, Zoox has undertaken extensive measures to better understand the underlying issues contributing to the unexpected braking.
Headquartered in Foster City, California, and owned by Amazon, Zoox is currently testing its innovative robotaxis—vehicles designed without traditional controls like steering wheels and brakes—in various locations including San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Foster City. During the testing phase, these vehicles are primarily utilized by Zoox employees, facilitating the improvement of the riding experience, with plans extending to testing in Austin and Miami in the near future.
Challenges with Phantom Braking in Autonomous Vehicles
Zoox is not alone in facing challenges related to “phantom braking,” the phenomenon where vehicles brake unexpectedly without apparent cause. Research conducted by Delft University of Technology suggests that this issue often arises from the vehicle’s automated systems misinterpreting sensor data or environmental conditions.
Tesla has faced significant scrutiny over phantom braking as well. In November 2024, a U.S. federal judge denied Tesla’s request to dismiss a class-action lawsuit pertaining to this issue, which claims that the company’s Autopilot system is responsible for unanticipated braking events.
In a related development, a German court ruled in February that the Autopilot system in Tesla’s Model 3 is “defective” and unsuitable for regular use, largely due to the phantom braking issue, with the case now in the hands of the Higher Regional Court in Munich.
Among competitors in the autonomous taxi space, Waymo is recognized as a leading player, currently providing more than 200,000 paid rides each week across its services in major cities such as San Francisco, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Austin. Furthermore, Waymo is planning to expand its autonomous services to Atlanta and Miami, with an announcement regarding operations in Washington, D.C., expected in 2026.
Source
www.therobotreport.com