Zoox Issues Software Recall Because Its Robotaxis May Be Confused By…

Zoox has issued a software recall for 105 robotaxis after one vehicle interfered with an active fire scene by entering heavy smoke without proper detection. The recall follows NHTSA pressure on autonomous vehicle companies to improve emergency situation handling, with the regulator now treating smoke detection as a core safety function rather than an edge case. If you're building perception systems for autonomous vehicles, NHTSA just redefined what counts as a baseline safety feature rather than an edge case—smoke detection is now table stakes, and every competitor will need to match it within weeks. That's a feature ceiling that just became a cost floor for the whole sector.