Amazon's Zoox recalls robotaxi for software update after Las Vegas crash

Amazon-owned robotaxi maker Zoox initiated a recall to update software in 270 driverless vehicles after a crash in Las Vegas. 

Zoox announced the software recall Monday, saying the update addresses the "root cause" of the recent collision and has already been deployed in potentially affected vehicles. 

The crash involving an unoccupied Zoox robotaxi and passenger car in Las Vegas occurred April 8, according to a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recall report from the company. Nobody was hurt in the accident.

The accident happened after a passenger car was "quickly approaching the lane where our purpose-built robotaxi was traveling," Zoox said Monday on its website.

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"Anticipating that the passenger car would proceed forward, the Zoox robotaxi slowed down and steered to the right. Instead, the car came to a full stop, fully yielding to the Zoox robotaxi and remaining in the shoulder lane," the robotaxi maker continued. "The Zoox robotaxi braked hard, but contact was unavoidable." 

The company conducted an "analysis and rigorous testing" to determine what led to the collision, according to Zoox. It also temporarily halted its driverless vehicle operations. 

According to the NHTSA report, the old version of the automated driving system software previously installed in the affected Zoox robotaxis "may make an inaccurate prediction when another vehicle slowly approaches perpendicularly and stops" in certain situations, potentially hindering its ability to "avoid a crash." 

However, Zoox updated the software in mid-April to remedy the issue.

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"All Zoox vehicles on the road today, including our purpose-built robotaxi and test fleet, have the updated software," Zoox said on its website.

Zoox added that it sought to "demonstrate our commitment to transparency, regulatory compliance and rider safety in the communities we serve" with the voluntary recall.

The company launched a test fleet in a handful of cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Seattle, Austin and Miami. It is looking to start providing robotaxi rides to people in Las Vegas and San Francisco "later this year," according to a recent blog post.

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Zoox has been under tech giant Amazon’s umbrella since 2020.

The robotaxi company, headquartered in Foster City, California, was founded roughly 11 years ago by Jesse Levinson and Tim Kentley-Klay.