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LIDAR is just another form of seeing, just not as we are used to as people but combined with cameras they two would compliment each other. Relying on only one i

LIDAR is just another form of seeing, just not as we are used to as people but combined with cameras they two would compliment each other. Relying on only one is a fool's gambit. LIDAR won't go blind from white trucks on sunny days. LIDAR won't suffer snow blindness or inability to track in conditions where humans don't see well, like heavy rain at night. You add in visual acquisition to fine tune what you are detecting if necessary; perhaps to read signs and tell what color the traffic light is, maybe even to see brake lights. To know a floating bag is just that and not a solid object, to see that road is washed out or such.

sliken 10y ago
Actually in snow, fog, rain, and related humans (and cameras) can do pretty reasonably. Things like brake lights and running lights can be pretty severely distorted and you still know the approximate distance to the car in front of you. Lidar on the other hand is a point source of light (not from the environment) and any distortion makes it less likely for said light to return to the sensor. So with stereo vision (or radar) you can get a relatively accurate distance for a car in front of you. With lidar some fraction of the returns will be bouncing off fog/snow/rain between you and the distant object. Because of this disadvantage lidar based systems might suggest a slower safe speed, and risk rear ending from humans.