• Waymo services driverless car software after Phoenix truck collision

    From JAB@21:1/5 to All on Wed Feb 14 20:13:39 2024
    Waymo services driverless car software after Phoenix truck collision

    Alphabet owned autonomous vehicle biz files voluntary recall report
    saying it tweaked wares via over-the-air update
    ...
    ...
    During the incident, a Waymo vehicle hit a backwards-facing pickup
    truck, which, according to Waymo, was being improperly towed ahead of
    the autonomous vehicle.

    Waymo said the pickup truck was angled across a center turn lane and a
    traffic lane.

    "Following contact, the tow truck and towed pickup truck did not pull
    over or stop traveling, and a few minutes later another Waymo vehicle
    made contact with the same pickup truck while it was being towed in
    the same manner. Neither Waymo vehicle was transporting riders at the
    time, and this unusual scenario resulted in no injuries and minor
    vehicle damage," the statement said.
    ...
    ...
    Waymo said it recalled the software due to the persistent orientation
    mismatch of the towed pickup truck and tow truck combination. The
    autonomous vehicle "incorrectly predicted the future motion of the
    towed vehicle." The software update was designed to address the issue.
    The company said it informed the Phoenix Police Department and the
    Arizona Department of Public Safety of the two collisions on December
    11 and the NHTSA on December 15, 2023.

    The company said its vehicles had driven more than 10 million fully
    autonomous miles and served upwards of 1 million ride-hail trips.
    Waymo research found that its vehicles' performance "led to a
    significant reduction in the rates of police-reported and
    injury-causing crashes compared to human drivers in the cities where
    we operate."

    https://www.theregister.com/2024/02/14/waymo_files_recall_after_pheonix/

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