Alphabet's Waymo has initiated a voluntary recall of 3,791 self-driving taxis following an event with heavy flooding, as noted in an Electrek analysis. The firm submitted the recall notice to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration after one of its cars entered a waterlogged street in San Antonio during the previous week. Although the cab carried no passengers and resulted in no harm, the strong current carried the vehicle off course.
The autonomous system failed to navigate away from the hazardous area. Such occurrences highlight the difficulties posed by unusual weather conditions for autonomous driving technology.
Waymo plans to deploy an over-the-air software update to resolve the problem, eliminating the requirement for physical inspections at repair facilities. In the meantime, the company has applied temporary safeguards as the update undergoes final checks. It is also restricting operations in zones prone to sudden flooding.
This marks the second time in the last month that flooding has affected Waymo's operations in San Antonio. The service paused activities there temporarily but is set to resume by the end of the week, according to recent updates.
The forthcoming software revision aims to correct a flaw in the navigation logic concerning submerged roadways. Waymo has previously conducted similar fleet-wide recalls, including a recent one to address vehicles bypassing halted school buses in violation of traffic rules.