{"schema_version":"0.10.0","id":"LR-2026-0632","record_version":1,"title":"Zoox robotaxis recalled after failing to recognize heavy smoke and an active fire scene","verification":{"human_verified":false,"method":"automated_gate","auto_verified":true,"score":60.0,"score_breakdown":{"source_authority":12.1,"independent_corroboration":20.0,"implicated_party_confirmed":0.0,"citation_integrity":14.0,"specificity":3.0,"completeness":2.88,"unhedged_language":5.0},"checks":{"schema_valid":true,"every_field_cited":true,"quotes_verbatim":true,"source_fetched":true,"distinct_incident":true,"dates_plausible":true,"sources_agree":true,"source_describes_incident":true,"severe_backed_by_source":true,"record_integrity":true,"eligible":true,"about_this_case":true},"gate_version":"gate-2026-10-18.7","cross_check_model":null,"cross_check_agreement":null,"duplicate_of":null,"verified_by":null,"verified_at":"2026-11-01","extraction_run_id":null,"evidence_level":{"level":"confirmed","reason":"2 independent outlets","original_document":null,"reports_total":3,"reports_independent":2,"reports_derivative":0,"developing":false,"disputed":false,"rules_version":"evidence-2026-10-29.1","computed_at":"2026-11-01","history":[{"date":"2026-11-01","from_level":null,"to_level":"confirmed","reason":"2 independent outlets"}]},"sources_hash":"b5ea8057f87bb18b6ce9a2ba180713a505387b842d4aba164085bea67c60a9c1"},"system":{"model_name":null,"model_version":null,"developer":"Zoox","harness":null,"tools_granted":[],"permissions_scope":null,"autonomy_level":"unknown","guardrails_present":[],"deployment_context":"production","tier":null,"lifecycle_stage":null,"integration_type":null,"intended_use":null,"safeguard_state":null,"production_intended":null},"event":{"date_occurred":null,"date_disclosed":"2026-07-17","incident_class":"operational_error","failure_class":null,"agent_involved":true,"secondary_failure_classes":[],"trigger":"unknown","duration":null,"detection_method":"unknown","summary":"Zoox, an Amazon-owned company, operates driverless robotaxis that carry free passengers in Las Vegas and San Francisco. On June 20, an unoccupied Zoox robotaxi approached an active emergency fire scene obscured by heavy smoke that was not cordoned off with cones. The vehicle entered the scene, braked hard while attempting to steer away, and came to a stop. A remote operator reversed it away from the scene, allowing first responders to place traffic cones. Zoox investigated the incident, notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and recalled software across its 105 robotaxis. The update adds the ability to detect and respond to heavy smoke in certain situations. No injuries were identified, and Zoox said this was the only event of its kind.","tags":[],"date_detected":null,"near_miss":null,"root_cause":null,"root_cause_detail":null,"failure_class_detail":null,"responsible_party":null,"adversarial_actor":null,"input_provenance":null,"time_to_contain":null,"operations_paused":null,"remediation":null,"precursor_events":null},"impact":{"direct_loss_usd":null,"remediation_hours":null,"records_exposed":null,"third_parties_affected_count":null,"severity":"minor","harm_class":["none_materialised"],"affected_description":null,"protected_class_involved":null,"data_categories_exposed":[],"loss_range_usd":null,"reversibility":null,"downstream_exposure_count":null},"evidence":{"sources":[{"url":"https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/17/amazon-zoox-recalls-robotaxi-smoke.html","publisher":"CNBC","date":"2026-07-17","type":"press","title":"Amazon's Zoox issues software recall after robotaxi drove into heavy smoke - CNBC","archived_url":null,"attachment":"first_report","independence":"independent"},{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/17/zoox-issues-software-recall-after-a-robotaxi-got-confused-by-heavy-smoke/","publisher":"TechCrunch","date":"2026-07-17","type":"press","title":"Zoox issues software recall after a robotaxi got confused by heavy smoke - TechCrunch","archived_url":null,"independence":"independent"},{"url":"https://www.autoweek.com/news/a73173312/zoox-recalls-105-robotaxis-fire-scene-incident/","publisher":"Autoweek","date":"2026-07-17","type":"press","title":"Zoox Recall Affects 105 Robotaxis After Fire Scene Incident - Autoweek","archived_url":null}],"per_field_confidence":{"system.developer":"C","system.deployment_context":"C","event.agent_involved":"C","impact.harm_class":"C","event.incident_class":"D","impact.severity":"D","event.summary":"C","system.autonomy_level":"D","event.trigger":"D","event.detection_method":"D","context.country":"D","event.date_disclosed":"D","context.denominator_available":"D"},"field_citations":{"system.developer":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Amazon-owned Zoox recalled software in 105 of its robotaxis over concerns its vehicles failed to detect heavy smoke and drove into it."}],"system.deployment_context":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Zoox currently offers free rides in parts of Las Vegas and San Francisco, and it's allowing select users to hail its robotaxis in small zones in Miami and Austin, Texas."}],"event.agent_involved":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"On June 20, an unoccupied Zoox robotaxi encountered heavy smoke that obscured an active emergency fire scene that was not cordoned off with cones, the company wrote in its report."}],"impact.harm_class":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"No injuries were identified."}],"event.incident_class":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Zoox said it investigated the incident and determined it's \"the only event of this kind\" that has occurred."}],"impact.severity":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Zoox said it investigated the incident and determined it's \"the only event of this kind\" that has occurred."}],"event.summary":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Zoox currently offers free rides in parts of Las Vegas and San Francisco, and it's allowing select users to hail its robotaxis in small zones in Miami and Austin, Texas."},{"source_index":0,"quote":"On June 20, an unoccupied Zoox robotaxi encountered heavy smoke that obscured an active emergency fire scene that was not cordoned off with cones, the company wrote in its report."},{"source_index":0,"quote":"The vehicle entered the scene, then braked hard while attempting to steer away before coming to a stop, Zoox said."},{"source_index":0,"quote":"A Zoox teleguidance employee instructed the vehicle to reverse, then first responders placed traffic cones to block off the scene, according to the report."},{"source_index":1,"quote":"The Amazon-owned company said Friday that it has shipped to its fleet of 105 vehicles a software update that should address the issue."},{"source_index":0,"quote":"No injuries were identified."},{"source_index":0,"quote":"Zoox said it investigated the incident and determined it's \"the only event of this kind\" that has occurred."}]},"notes_on_gaps":"The sources state no model name, version, harness, tools, autonomy level, root cause, trigger, detection date or method, duration, or containment time, so those fields are omitted. Year 2026 for the June 20 incident is inferred from the article dates and the phrase 'last month'. The incident location comes from Zoox's report via CNBC; NHTSA's report does not state it per TechCrunch. The country is inferred from the U.S. references. Zoox's own date for the recall decision (July 7, per TechCrunch) and notification to NHTSA (July 8, per CNBC) are both given as stated. Source 0 says 'teleguidance employee' while source 1 says 'teleoperator'; the summary uses 'remote operator'. Incident class 'operational_error' and agent_involved true are my judgements, since no closed class names a perception failure; failure_class is omitted because no listed value fits a sensor-perception fault. Severity 'minor' is my judgement: one deployer's fleet, no injuries, and Zoox's statement that the event was unique. No controls are stated as held, failed, or missing in this incident, so links is empty. The software update's smoke-detection change does not map to any listed control, so no remediation entry is recorded with controls_added. The NHTSA letter to other AV developers is industry context, not this incident's controls. [case created by the backfill: read by claude-haiku-5-5, backfill-2026-11-01.2, 2026-11-01; not yet reviewed] [2026-11-01: evidence level set: Confirmed (2 independent outlets)]"},"context":{"industry":null,"org_size_band":null,"country":"unknown","denominator_available":false,"denominator":null,"related_incident_ids":[],"systemic_exposure":null,"shared_model_id":null,"upstream_incident_id":null,"incident_evidence":null,"regulatory":null,"coverage":null}}