Hundreds of autonomous robotaxis paralyze traffic in Wuhan due to technical failure

A system failure that occurred at night in the Chinese city of Wuhan caused dozens of autonomous robotaxis to go out of service simultaneously. On the evening of March 31, more than 100 driverless vehicles operating under Baidu's Apollo Go brand suddenly stopped, causing chaos in traffic.

According to information provided by traffic authorities, reports of driverless taxis stopping unexpectedly in the middle of the road began coming in around 8:57 PM. Extensive checks revealed that all the problematic vehicles belonged to the same company and were affected by a common software error.

Experts stated that autonomous robotaxis often receive instructions from a central control system, meaning that a disruption at the center could disable all vehicles in the fleet at once. In its initial statement, the company shared information indicating that the failure was caused by an "error in the central management system."

PASSENGERS TRAPPED FOR 90 MINUTES

It emerged that the failure caused significant problems regarding passenger safety. Some passengers had to wait for the doors to open for about an hour and a half while inside the vehicles. Passengers experienced great anxiety as the vehicles were stuck in heavy traffic or on viaducts. The inability to exit in emergency situations became the subject of many posts on social media.

During the incident, it was observed that some autonomous robotaxis had their hazard lights on, and a few were involved in minor accidents. Traffic flow slowed significantly due to the vehicles left in the middle of the road, and short-lived chaotic scenes occurred in various areas.

Fortunately, no injuries or loss of life occurred during the incident. Local government and traffic teams have launched a detailed investigation to determine the cause of the failure. However, it was stated that the technical report regarding the central management system has not yet been shared with the public.

This mass failure in Wuhan, which made waves in the technology world, once again highlighted how critical a role central systems play in large cities where driverless vehicles are used extensively.

News Source: 12punto