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Nvidia halts self-driving tests in wake of Uber accident

4 points by rgbrenner 9y ago

ineedasername 9y ago
Doesn't uber use nvidia? If so, this doesn't bode well for nvidia, it implies a link between the crash and nvidia's piece of the rig.
- mtgx 9y ago
  This is exactly why they're doing this. Not too long ago, Nvidia was bragging with "Level 5" [1] self-driving hardware, even though at the time the company still didn't have a proper answer for why its hardware can be classified as Level 5, and not just Level 4 (just being X times better than the previous generation is obviously not enough). Since then, I saw they've pulled back their targets a bit [2], and are claiming Level 4 around 2021, and Level 5 in 2025+, which even surprised me that they thought it's going to take that long (longer than most techies would have expected, for sure). And that was before the Uber accident and having to stop this testing. My guess is the Uber accident pushed the Level 5 arrival by another few years at least. I've also said not too long ago that companies like Nvidia and most car makers are all in too much of a hurry to "one-up" each other and be the "first with Level 5", which only made me more suspicious about their capabilities. It was starting to feel like 2011/2012 all over again when carriers were claiming "4G" wireless capability, even though some were still on HSDPA+ or weak WiMax speeds. Of course they did. What mattered most was to claim that they have that tech, not that they actually had it. It's no different this time, especially with all the deregulation being given to the self-driving car companies on a silver platter. My point is I never believed these cars makers were anywhere close to Level 5, just like I never believed Tesla when it was making its Autopilot sound so much more advanced than it really was. These companies have exactly the kind of incentive that would get them to lie/be misleading about how good their tech actually is. [1] - https://nvidianews.nvidia.com/news/nvidia-announces-world-s-first-ai-computer-to-make-robotaxis-a-reality https://nvidianews.nvidia.com/news/nvidia-announces-world-s-... [2] - https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/2018/01/25/whats-difference-level-2-level-5-autonomy/ https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/2018/01/25/whats-difference-le...

4 points by rgbrenner 9y ago

Doesn't uber use nvidia? If so, this doesn't bode well for nvidia, it implies a link between the crash and nvidia's piece of the rig.

mtgx 9y ago
This is exactly why they're doing this. Not too long ago, Nvidia was bragging with "Level 5" [1] self-driving hardware, even though at the time the company still didn't have a proper answer for why its hardware can be classified as Level 5, and not just Level 4 (just being X times better than the previous generation is obviously not enough). Since then, I saw they've pulled back their targets a bit [2], and are claiming Level 4 around 2021, and Level 5 in 2025+, which even surprised me that they thought it's going to take that long (longer than most techies would have expected, for sure). And that was before the Uber accident and having to stop this testing. My guess is the Uber accident pushed the Level 5 arrival by another few years at least. I've also said not too long ago that companies like Nvidia and most car makers are all in too much of a hurry to "one-up" each other and be the "first with Level 5", which only made me more suspicious about their capabilities. It was starting to feel like 2011/2012 all over again when carriers were claiming "4G" wireless capability, even though some were still on HSDPA+ or weak WiMax speeds. Of course they did. What mattered most was to claim that they have that tech, not that they actually had it. It's no different this time, especially with all the deregulation being given to the self-driving car companies on a silver platter. My point is I never believed these cars makers were anywhere close to Level 5, just like I never believed Tesla when it was making its Autopilot sound so much more advanced than it really was. These companies have exactly the kind of incentive that would get them to lie/be misleading about how good their tech actually is. [1] - https://nvidianews.nvidia.com/news/nvidia-announces-world-s-first-ai-computer-to-make-robotaxis-a-reality https://nvidianews.nvidia.com/news/nvidia-announces-world-s-... [2] - https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/2018/01/25/whats-difference-level-2-level-5-autonomy/ https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/2018/01/25/whats-difference-le...