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Zoox recalls 105 robotaxis after smoke blinded one
Amazon-owned Zoox is recalling all 105 autonomous vehicles after a Las Vegas incident where a robotaxi failed to detect dense fire smoke.
Image: iXBT
Zoox, the Amazon-owned robotaxi company, is recalling its entire fleet of 105 autonomous vehicles after one of its cars failed to properly recognize dense smoke at a fire scene in Las Vegas.
According to a report filed with the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the incident happened on June 20 during Zoox’s free testing program in the city. An empty vehicle approached a fire obscured by thick smoke. Because the area had not yet been blocked off with traffic cones, the robotaxi did not identify the danger, braked hard, tried to drive around the obstruction, and then stopped.
After the vehicle stopped, a remote operator took control and moved it out of the hazardous area. Only then were emergency workers able to close 2 of 3 lanes.
Zoox said the software update will expand its existing system for detecting emergency response scenes by adding the ability to recognize heavy smoke and respond appropriately.
The incident adds to a broader pattern of robotaxis interfering with emergency services. During a major San Francisco power outage last year, police had to manually move stopped Waymo vehicles from intersections. In March 2026, another Waymo robotaxi blocked an ambulance responding to a mass shooting in Austin.
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Following a series of such incidents, NHTSA chief Jonathan Morrison sent a formal letter to companies developing autonomous vehicles, calling failures to properly interact with emergency services “unacceptable.”
“Such situations cannot be treated as rare exceptions, and an autonomous vehicle that cannot behave safely around first responders poses a danger to those around it.”
Frontier Editor
Dan is our resident futurist, covering electric mobility, space exploration, and the smart home. He's interested in atoms just as much as bits. Whether it's a new battery chemistry, a reusable rocket, or a protocol that finally makes IoT devices talk to each other, Dan breaks down the engineering that pushes humanity forward.
via iXBT
