Waymo Recalls Autonomous Vehicles Following Collision with Utility Pole in Phoenix

Waymo recalls 672 autonomous vehicles after a crash with a utility pole in Phoenix revealed mapping and perception system issues.

Waymo has been dealing with a series of crashes and recalls, with the latest issue involving an «inability to avoid a pole or similar objects.»

The recall affects 672 autonomous vehicles. According to the Safety Recall Report, on May 21, a Waymo vehicle in Phoenix collided with a wooden utility pole in an alley. Fortunately, the Jaguar I-Pace wasn’t carrying any passengers at the time, but the vehicle did suffer some damage.

Following the incident, Waymo’s Field Safety Committee investigated and found that their autonomous vehicles could collide with pole-like objects under specific conditions:

— The object was within the road boundaries, and the map lacked a hard road edge between the object and the drivable surface.

— The Waymo ADS’s perception system assigned a low damage score to the object.

— The object was within the intended path of the Waymo ADS (e.g., during a pullover near the object).

— There were no other objects nearby for the ADS to react to and avoid.

To address these issues, Waymo developed a software update to enhance the ADS response to pole-like objects and implemented robust mapping updates. These updates ensure the map includes a hard road edge between such objects and the drivable surface, better defining the roadway for autonomous vehicles.

These updates have already been applied to the vehicles, aiming to prevent future incidents. However, it remains an embarrassing setback for Waymo, which may not ease public concerns about autonomous vehicle safety.

Additionally, this incident follows another recall about four months ago, where two separate Waymo vehicles collided with a towed pickup in Phoenix.