Amazon's Zoox reissues a recall for 105 robotaxis following an incident where one entered thick smoke at the site of an ongoing fire.

      Amazon's Zoox voluntarily recalled software in 105 of its robotaxis after an unoccupied vehicle drove into dense smoke at an active fire scene in Las Vegas on June 20. The smoke obscured visibility, and the area was not marked off with cones. The robotaxi entered the scene, braked abruptly while trying to maneuver away, and eventually stopped. A remote Zoox employee directed it to reverse, after which first responders placed traffic cones to secure the area. Fortunately, there were no injuries.

      Zoox informed the NHTSA about the recall on July 8 and stated that this incident was "the only event of this kind" recorded. This recall comes in response to NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison's call for autonomous vehicle developers to address issues related to first responders by the end of July, highlighting a “clear pattern” of driverless vehicles entering emergency scenes, obstructing ambulances, and failing to detect smoke, flares, and flashing lights.

      Last year, Zoox had multiple software recalls related to lane crossings, vehicle movement prediction, and pedestrian detection. Similarly, Waymo recalled about 3,900 robotaxis last month after some entered closed freeway construction sites. The industry shows a consistent trend: while autonomous vehicles manage standard driving conditions effectively, they face challenges with the unpredictability of emergency situations. Waymo's robotaxis also stalled during the July 4 fireworks display, underscoring that edge cases in autonomous driving are more common than the industry tends to suggest.

      Zoox operates driverless vehicles without steering wheels or pedals in select areas of Las Vegas and San Francisco, with limited services in Miami and Austin, and tests in six other U.S. cities. The company is striving to compete with Waymo, which operates around 4,000 autonomous vehicles nationwide. Amazon purchased Zoox for $1.3 billion in 2020.