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> In my opinion the only field where they will not be able to catch up are autonomous vehicle, it is too abstract and revolutionary for them. It does not fit th
by kuschku 9y ago
> In my opinion the only field where they will not be able to catch up are autonomous vehicle, it is too abstract and revolutionary for them. It does not fit the german way of innovation based on small incremental innovative steps.
Remember that VW and Sony had a working prototype of an autonomous Passat around 2008, back then the computers required to make the calculations filled half the car.
I’m sure going from that step – having a prototype that works on highways and in simple situations – to the goal is just an iterative process, something they are good at.
And we’ve seen with other carmakers, which started by adding lane assistants, parking assistants, crash prevention systems that automatically brake, later ones that automatically drive around obstacles that you can gain autonomous capability by taking each part of driving, solving it seperately, and iterating on the combination.
- Glawen 9y agoHighway driving is the easiest thing to do. Making a SW which reliably drive in cities is a huge leap forwaed. Then comes the SW safety side: how do you prove to the authorities that the SW is fail safe ? It is a huge challenge.
- kuschku 9y agoOf course, but it’s not like the Germans are behind the others – highway driving was something these companies did a decade ago, Tesla is only doing it now, and only Waymo is further than that (and Waymo still only does cities without weather, or pedestrians)