This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Alphabet’s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) self-driving unit Waymo is recalling 3,871 robotaxis in the United States after NHTSA identified a software defect that could cause vehicles to enter closed freeway construction zones and continue driving at speed. The defect sits in certain Fifth Generation Automated Driving Systems. As an interim step, Waymo has narrowed where its cars can operate, restricting freeway driving while it develops a permanent remedy. Alphabet rose 0.14% in premarket.
The fix will arrive as an over-the-air software update that helps each vehicle recognize its location and avoid construction zones, delivered free of charge, according to NHTSA. Pulling back on freeway driving rather than keeping the fleet running under a patch is the more revealing move.
The Waymo recall is the latest in a series of NHTSA actions against autonomous and semi-autonomous driving systems. In March, the agency escalated its investigation into Tesla’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) Full Self-Driving system to an engineering analysis covering 3.2 million vehicles, over crashes in reduced-visibility conditions.
