Zoox issues second robotaxi software recall in a month following collision

Amazon-owned autonomous vehicle company Zoox has issued its second voluntary software recall in a month, following a collision between one of its robotaxis and an e-scooter rider in San Francisco on May 8.

The latest incident involved an unoccupied Zoox vehicle operating at low speed, which the company says was struck by the e-scooter after braking to yield at an intersection. 

Just weeks earlier, the company recalled about 270 vehicles after a Las Vegas crash between a Zoox robotaxi and a passenger car that raised concerns over the self-driving software’s ability to predict the movement of other road users. 

That issue still seems to be a concern.

“The Zoox vehicle was stopped at the time of contact,” the company’s statement on the May 8 crash reads. “The e-scooterist fell to the ground directly next to the vehicle. The robotaxi then began to move and stopped after completing the turn, but did not make further contact with the e-scooterist.”

The e-scooterist declined an offer of medical attention for minor injuries, according to Zoox.

Zoox said it shared relevant information and video with regulators, and has already issued a software update to “improve perception tracking and further prevent vehicle movement when a vulnerable road user may be very near the vehicle.”

A robotaxi that continues to move after a collision could risk harming other road users that were involved in the crash. Just look at what happened to Cruise, Zoox’s erstwhile competitor. The GM-backed company saw its business crumble after one of its robotaxis struck a pedestrian that was flung into its path by a human-driven vehicle, and then dragged that pedestrian some 20 feet while attempting a pullover maneuver.

TechCrunch has reached out to learn if this was a top-of-mind concern for Zoox when it issued its software recall, or whether there were other factors at play, like unexpected hard braking.

In March, Zoox recalled 258 vehicles due to issues with its autonomous driving system that could cause unexpected hard braking, following two reports of incidents in which motorcyclists collided into the back of Zoox test vehicles. 

Zoox did not respond in time to TechCrunch to confirm more details about its latest software recall, including how many vehicles were affected, and how this update is different from the update issued several weeks ago. 

TechCrunch has reached out to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for more information on the recall.