3 ms·
Autonomous vehicles will require engineering that's more like NASA and less like weekend hackathon. Given Musk's association with SpaceX, I was hopeful we'd get
by freyir 10y ago
Autonomous vehicles will require engineering that's more like NASA and less like weekend hackathon. Given Musk's association with SpaceX, I was hopeful we'd get the former, but it's starting to look like an autopilot solution was released half-baked.
The current SV engineering climate -- youth beats experience, move fast and break things, release early and often -- works great for photo sharing apps but not great when lives are at stake.
- tdaltonc 10y agoActually I think SpaceX and NASA do think quite differently about things. NASA has to engineer toward maintaining their national mandate. Every launch is a PR game targeting the American public and congress. SpaceX instead has to worry about keeping customers happy. I think SpaceX has a simpler job there. Sourcing, manufacturing, deployment, insurance, etc. all seem simpler for a private company. They're shown that they're not shy about breaking their toys once the customers payload is off if they think they have a good chance of learning something. SpaceX hasn't had people in their vehicles yet. Maybe they're be more careful when they do. Or maybe not. I can't find the quote right now but I think it was Sagan who said that part of what makes exploration so captivating is that it is dangerous, maybe we shouldn't make safety the number one priority because it might slacken our awe.