General Motors Cruise LLC startup said Thursday it had recalled and updated software for 80 self-driving vehicles after a June accident in San Francisco that injured two people.
Federal regulators have said the booster software could “badly predict” the path of an oncoming vehicle. Cruz said he determined that this unusual scenario would not repeat itself after the update.
In recent months, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has intensified research into advanced driver assistance systems and autonomous vehicle systems. Last year, it ordered all car manufacturers and technology companies to report accidents related to self-driving vehicles immediately.
The NHTSA said Thursday that Cruise’s recall filing was required by law “to address a security flaw in its automatic driving system software.”
NHTSA said: “All manufacturers, including those developing automated driving systems, must continually ensure that they meet their requirements to issue recalls for any safety issue that poses an undue safety risk. ” done.”
NHTSA said the recalled cruise software “could cause (autonomous driving systems) to incorrectly predict the path of another vehicle, or fail to react sufficiently to a passenger’s sudden change of route. Road, when taking a dangerous left. under certain circumstances “.”
Cruz revealed Thursday that after the June 3 incident in San Francisco, he temporarily banned his vehicles from making dangerous left turns and reduced the area his vehicles could travel to.
After the software update on July 6, Cruise said he has gradually reintroduced dangerous left turns, which refer to a left turn at an intersection with a steady green light intended only for turning vehicles. Instead a green arrow directs all traffic.
Cruise pointed out in a statement Thursday that all vehicles have software updates and the recall “does not affect or change our current operations on the road.”
“Cruise AVs are even better equipped to avoid this singular and extraordinary event,” the company said.
NHTSA said that “an inappropriate response (automated driving system) could increase the risk of an accident”.
The agency said last month it had launched a special investigation into the cruise ship accident.
In rare circumstances, Cruise claimed that the software caused the self-driving vehicle to brake heavily during a dangerous left turn, deemed necessary to avoid a severe head-on collision.
Cruz said the self-driving vehicle had to “decide between two different risk scenarios and choose the one that had the least potential for serious collision at that time, before a sudden change of direction of the oncoming vehicle.”
Cruz also noted that a police report found that the second most guilty vehicle of the party for the June accident was a vehicle traveling at 40 mph over a 25-mile zone.
In March, tech startup Pony.ai agreed to recall versions of its autonomous driving system software, which was used in three vehicles, after an October accident in California.
GM has lost nearly $ 5 billion trying to build a robotaxi business in San Francisco since 2018 and revealed in July that it lost $ 500 million on Cruise in the second quarter because it closed a limited area from San Francisco. He had started charging for the ride.
In February, GM and Cruise revealed that they had applied to NHTSA for permission to launch self-driving vehicles without a steering wheel, mirrors, turn signals or wipers.
Last month, NHTSA said it would extend a public comment period upon request.