The control system particularly struggled near intersections.
Amazon Zoox has recalled its robotaxis following a series of strange incidents.
While Uber and WeRide are launching the Geely Farizon SuperVan robotaxi on Yas Island near Abu Dhabi, and Momenta and Lumo have created a self-driving taxi from a Mercedes-Benz S-Class and are using them in the UAE capital, the situation with a similar American project is not so good.
Amazon Zoox recalled 332 robotaxis due to recorded episodes in which the autonomous vehicle crossed the dividing line and entered oncoming traffic, and sometimes even stopped in the middle of the road. The system particularly struggled near intersections. The first such incident was recorded by the company in August of last year, prompting them to monitor the issue – and they subsequently found another 62 such incidents.
To the developers' credit, the first emergency update was made on November 7, which partially alleviated the issue – but it seems it did not resolve it completely. The system gets confused if other cars are parked in the second row, unexpectedly change direction, or block the intersection. Therefore, in December, Amazon Zoox announced the recall – and updated the firmware of the robotaxis once again.
After the recall, a study showed that only 13% of Americans are willing to take a ride in a self-driving car – most responded that they are afraid of such transport, and the Amazon Zoox recall did not convince them that everything is now fine... However, in 2024, long before this entire story, the figure was only 9%.
