Waymo Updates Fleet-Wide Software In US To Address Potential Collision Concerns

Autonomous driving tech and mobility firm Waymo has revealed that it has undertaken proactive measures to address concerns related to its 5th Generation Automated Driving Systems (ADS) following an accident involving two of its vehicles in December 2023. The company said that it has already rolled out a comprehensive software update to its entire fleet between December 20, 2023 and January 12, 2024, aiming to mitigate such collision incidents in the future.

The move comes in response to identified issues where the Waymo ADS could, in rare cases, inaccurately predict the future motion of a towed vehicle. The specific scenario involves encountering a configuration where the rearmost axle of the towed vehicle has a significant steer angle applied. In such cases, the Waymo ADS might incorrectly assess the movement of the towed vehicle, potentially leading to a collision if it is in the path of the autonomous system.

The company recently filed a recall report with the US road transport safety body NHTSA saying it had implemented a fleet-wide software recall and update during December 2023 and January 2024. The company said that the recall and subsequent software update did not affect its vehicle operations.

Talking about the incident, on December 11, 2023, a Waymo Autonomous Vehicle (AV) operating in Phoenix, Arizona, made contact with a pickup truck being towed backward and at an angle relative to the towing vehicle. The AV collided with the pickup truck, which was partially occupying the travel lane, resulting in no injuries. A second similar incident occurred minutes later, involving another Waymo AV making contact with the same off-angle towed pickup truck.

Waymo promptly escalated these events to its Field Safety process and engaged in discussions with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on December 15, 2023, and subsequent dates, providing updates on the situation.

Although the collisions were of low severity and the likelihood of encountering such a configuration was exceptionally rare, Waymo proactively developed and deployed an expedited software update.

Written by: RONIT AGARWAL