Waymo Robotaxi Caught Circling Roundabout in Viral Video Loop
A Waymo robotaxi goes viral after video shows it stuck circling a roundabout repeatedly with no passengers inside. The company resolves the strange looping behavior by quickly deploying a new software update to its entire fleet.
A Waymo robotaxi gains viral attention after a video shows the empty vehicle continuously circling a roundabout as if trapped in a loop. The footage echoes a famous movie scene and highlights the occasional unpredictability of autonomous driving algorithms in complex traffic environments. A Waymo spokesperson confirms that no passengers are onboard the vehicle during the incident.
Waymo responds to the unusual situation by deploying a software update to its entire robotaxi fleet to prevent the looping behavior from happening again. The company fixes the glitch remotely, demonstrating the advantage of connected, over-the-air updates for self-driving technology. TechCrunch requests further details from Waymo about the specific logic failure that causes the vehicle to orbit the roundabout and how engineers reprogram the system.
This viral roundabout incident adds to a growing collection of videos capturing odd robotaxi behavior in areas like San Francisco. Earlier this year, another viral livestream shows a group of Waymo vehicles honking persistently throughout the night in a local parking lot. As autonomous vehicles become more common on public roads, these unexpected software quirks continue to draw public scrutiny and spark conversations about the readiness of self-driving tech.