Waymo Recalls 3,800 Robotaxis After Water Detection Failures

Waymo recalled 3,800 vehicles after its autonomous systems failed to assess standing water depth, resulting in multiple incidents where robotaxis drove into flood conditions. In San Antonio, one vehicle was swept away by floodwaters; a separate incident forced a passenger evacuation. The recall exposed a fundamental limitation: depth perception in water is a harder perception problem than autonomous navigation itself, requiring explicit algorithmic solutions beyond camera and lidar data alone.