After San Francisco power breakdown, Waymo to update its robotaxis' software

Following a widespread power breakdown in San Francisco that stalled the entire fleet of Waymo robotaxis, the Alphabet-owned ride-hailing company has announced an update to its self-driving software to enhance emergency response protocols.

The reported power outage in San Francisco caused several Waymo robotaxis to cause traffic congestion. It occurred on Saturday evening when a fire at a PG&E substation disrupted electricity for nearly one-third of the city.

The incident affected around 130,000 residents and led to the closure of some businesses temporarily. During the outage, Waymo paused its ride-hailing service.

Videos circulating on social media depicted Waymo vehicles halted at intersections with their hazard lights flashing.

While Waymo's vehicles are designed to treat non-functioning traffic lights as four-way stops, the high number of dark intersections led to an increased frequency of remote confirmation requests.

Waymo reported that it successfully manoeuvred over 7,000 dark traffic signals, while admitting that its confirmation system needs refinement for its larger operational scale.

Waymo's upcoming fleet-wide software updates will provide vehicles with specific context regarding power outages, letting them make decisions more confidently without delays.

Waymo's ride-hailing services were resumed in the San Francisco Bay Area on Sunday after the power outage was resolved, operating over 2,500 autonomous vehicles across various cities.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is thoroughly inspecting the incident, highlighting the ongoing scrutiny of robotaxi operations in the state.