2025-05-26 13:10
publication
2025-05-26 13:10
Autonomous vehicle technology is developing at a dizzying pace. Although robotaxes promise comfort and safety, their implementation is associated with numerous technological and social challenges. Due to the fact that subsequent companies are testing their solutions on city streets, inevitable incidents become an important test for the entire industry.
ZOOX announced that on May 8, their impersonal ZoOX Robotaksi vehicle made a slight speed when he was hit by an electric scooter user, who stopped to give way to the intersection. A person leading a scooter suffered minor injuries, but refused medical help.
The company wrote: “The zoox vehicle was stopped at the time of contact. The scooter user fell to the ground next to the vehicle. Robotaksi then moved and stopped after the turn ended, but there was no further contact with the scooter user.”
On May 22, Zoox announced that he had submitted a report on the voluntary withdrawal of software to the National Highway Traffic Safety Safety Safety Administration.
The company spokesman announced that the advertisement should be published on the NHTSA website at the beginning of this week. 270 vehicles covered the withdrawal.
NHTSA in a statement informed that she had received a notification about the withdrawal of the software and recommends to all road users caution near autonomous vehicles, because robotaxes may incorrectly predict a cyclist's ride track or a scooter user or stopping unexpectedly.
Are autonomous taxis safe?
If an autonomous vehicle continues traffic after contact with a pedestrian or other unprotected road participant, there is a risk of causing an accident. In the AV industry (autonomous vehicles), Cruise, supported by General Motors, withdrew from the activities of Robotaksówki after an accident in which one of its vehicles drove a pedestrian, previously hit by a man driven by a car.
The May event is the second such incident in a short time: just over two weeks earlier, ZoOx announced a separate, voluntary withdrawal of the software after a collision in Las Vegas. In that case, the impersonal Zoox vehicle collided with a passenger car, which caused minor damage to both vehicles.
The company then withdrew the software in 270 Robotaksi vehicles to remove the defect in the autonomous driving system, which could lead to incorrect prediction of the movement of another vehicle, increasing the risk of collision.
Giant Race. Amazon, Alphabet and Tesla are fighting for the future of Robotaksówki
Amazon took over ZOOX in 2020 for over a billion dollars, announcing that the takeover would help to realize the vision of introducing autonomous transport services.
While ZoOx is still testing its autonomous vehicles on public roads in the USA, Waymo belonging to Alphabet already offers commercial, unmanned journeys in Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Austin (Texas), and will soon start in Atlanta.
Tesla announced that next month he will launch long -awaited robotaks in Austin, and if everything goes according to plan, she will expand its activities on San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Antonio (Texas).
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